Survival Is The Key
by Chris Rudy
Summary: The apocalypse... Whenever someone mentions that it's coming, most people either laughed them off, or locked them up. When the apocalypse finally arrives, and the walking dead roam, how can a group of people survive?
1. Chapter 1

**Survival Is The Key**

**The apocalypse... Whenever someone mentions that it's coming, most people either laughed them off, or locked them up. When the apocalypse finally arrives, and the walking dead roam, how can a group of people survive?**

**Anne Marshall belongs to AquaDestiny'sEmbrace (Many thanks to Aqua for letting me use her)**

**I do not own the Walking Dead or its characters. I do own Chris.**

**And now, for the voice behind Chris: Josh Hutcherson.**

**Chapter 1: Near Death Experience And Leaving**

**Chris's POV**

"Chris." My father called for me.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Why don't you go ask Anne if she wants to come with us?" He asked, and I immediately started blushing.

"Y-Yeah. I could a-ask her if she wants to come." I said sheepishly.

I knew he did that to see me blush. He and my step-mom, Coleen, both knew how much I liked her. I would give him hell when we came back from our supply run. I walked over to Anne's tent, and opened the flap.

_"She's so cute when she sleeps… No. Shut up, dumbass."_ I thought to myself. I picked up her can of Pepsi and poked a hole in it with one of my Sais. As soon as it hit her face, she started sputtering.

"What the hell, Chris?" She furiously asked me. "I was wondering if you would like to come with me and my dad on a quick little supply run?" I asked shyly. "Yeah, just give me a minute to get ready." She replied. "Okay." I said then walked out of her tent.

A few minutes later, she came out of her tent, dressed and armed.

_"Damn, she's hot… SHUT UP!"_ I thought to myself, then hid my face so she wouldn't see me blush. We walked over to my parents, when I looked to see Anne had a shocked look on her face when she saw my step-mom with my dad. "Coleen's coming on the supply run with us." I explained to her and she nodded in understanding.

"Let's get going." My dad said and all four of us left to find supplies.

/Two Hours Later\

We were still looking for supplies when I heard Anne's voice.

"I FOUND SOMETHING!" She shouted and I ran to her. I saw she had some Spam in her hand.

"Nice going, Anne!" I praised, and she smiled at me. We then met up with my step-mom, my dad, and Anne showed the Spam she found. I showed the can of beans that I found. After that, we walked back to the community when I heard a twig snap. I stopped in my tracks and drew Anne's attention.

"What's wrong, Chris?" She asked me. My dad and Coleen stopped as well.

"You guys hear that?" I asked, when I looked behind Coleen and went wide eyed. "COLEEN, DUCK!" I said and she obliged. I threw one of my Sais at the lurker and stabbed it in the head. The lurker fell to the ground and I pulled my Sai out of its head. But, unfortunately, Coleen got pinned down by another lurker. They then started coming out of the forest.

"Dad, throw me a grenade." I said, but he refused. I ran to him and Anne, leaving my step-mother to be devoured when I tripped on a root. I turned over to my back to see a lurker jump on top of me.

After a brief struggle, I managed to kick it away from me, then stabbed it in the head before it could bite me. I ran back to the community to see doors were about to close. I made it in just before they did and when I got to my feet, I glared at my 'father'.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE HER?!" I furiously asked him.

"She was a danger to us all." He replied and I was now beyond furious.

"We could've saved her." I said, tears beginning to stream down my face.

"One day, you'll understand." He said. I was tempted to punch him square in the face, but didn't. I just stormed off to my mobile home.

_"That's it. In a few days, I'm outta here."_ I thought to myself.

/One Week Later\

**Anne's POV**

I was getting worried about Chris. He hadn't left his mobile home for a week, and I knew I wasn't the only one who was worried, but I was confused by why I was more worried than anyone. I felt like I wanted to be by his side to help him and I didn't know why. I decided to try and get him to come out of his mobile home. I finally made my way to his mobile home and opened the door. I saw him busy packing some of his things into his backpack. I quickly closed the door behind me and decided to get some answers.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. "Packing." He replied. "Obviously, but why?" I asked. "Because I'm leaving. Don't bother trying to stop me. I'm leaving tonight." He replied, and I was shocked.

"Would you object to me coming with you?" I asked, causing him to stop and look at me. "What?" He asked. "You heard me. I don't owe that snivelling bastard loyalty anymore. So, I'll ask you again. Would you object to me coming with you?" I asked him.

**Chris's POV**

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Anne Marshall, the girl I was in love with was asking me if she could tag along with me. I decided to answer. "By all means, come with me." I replied. She smiled then went to her tent to pack. _"Wow. I did not expect that."_ I thought to myself as I resumed packing.

/Later That Night\

I tiptoed over to Anne's tent, praying she was still awake. I opened her tent and saw she was still awake. "You ready?" I asked her, and she nodded her head. "Okay. Let's disappear." I joked, hoping to earn some kind of acknowledgement. I managed to get her to giggle and decided that was as good an acknowledgement as I'd get.

We made our way outside of the community when I stopped before entering the forest, turned around to the community and rose my middle fingers to it and stuck my tongue out as well. I then turned to Anne to find her giggling at the sight. "Damn, that felt good." I said before we kept walking through the forest.

**That's chapter one. I hope you guys like this story. Chris and Anne will end up together, but not until later on in the story. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Lives Saved**

**Anne's POV**

I woke up to Chris sniffling. I looked to my left and saw he wasn't there.

_"He must be outside."_ I thought to myself before I placed my bandana back over my eye and walked outside. My hunch was right and I saw him sitting by the fire when I decided to comfort him.

"Hey, is it okay if I sit with you?" I asked him and, without looking, he nodded his head. I sat down next to him and allowed him to rest his head on my shoulder.

"Why did he do that?" He asked me.

I didn't know what to tell him as a reply without stirring him up.

"We could've saved her, Anne. Tell me you agree with me, please." He said.

"I completely agree. I should've gotten to her, but he wouldn't let me. He wouldn't even let me help you." I said.

He was still crying. "I know how bad it hurts, Chris. But I'm here. I'll never leave you. I promise." I said, making him smile.

"Thanks. You just said all the right things." He said and I actually blushed. "Okay. Let's grab our stuff and keep going." He said as he walked over to the tent, undid it, and packed it up. We then threw our backpacks over our shoulders and kept walking.

I looked past him and saw a lone lurker.

"Let me use one of your Sais." I said, and he handed me one. I then crept up behind the lurker and stabbed it in the back of the head. I pulled the Sai out of the lurker's head and handed it to Chris. He wiped it clean, and then handed it back to me.

"Take it. I can manage with just one." He said, and I then accepted and took the Sai.

Chris and I kept walking through the woods when I suddenly heard a girl scream.

"Did you hear that?" I asked him and he nodded his head.

"Someone's in trouble." He said as we started running to where the scream came from.

We finally made our way to where the scream came from to find a dog latching its teeth into a young girl's arm. I drew the Sai Chris gave me and ran to help the girl.

I made my way to her only to find a rock and gave it to the girl.

"Here. Use this." I said, handing her the rock. She took it and hit the dog with it. Once she was free, she kicked the dog and it was impaled.

Chris came running to help when he saw the dog impaled. "I'm sorry, boy." He said as he mercy killed the poor animal. While he did that, I looked at the girl.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"Uh-huh." She replied as I helped her to her feet.

"I'm Anne. This is Chris. What's your name?" I asked her.

"I'm Clementine." She replied.

Chris then took a look at Clementine's arm. "We'd best find a doctor to treat this." He said and I nodded my head. "Will you be able to walk, Clem?" I asked her, and she shook her head. Chris then picked her up and carried her. We then kept walking.

As Chris continued walking with Clem in his arms, I looked at him and noticed he seemed exhausted.

"Let me carry her." I said, and he handed Clem to me. I then remembered I had a first aid kit in my backpack. I set her down and Chris took a knee. I then pulled the first aid kit out of my backpack and immediately went to work on tending to Clementine's arm. I got the peroxide, needle and thread out and was prepared to suture her arm. I first grabbed the peroxide and looked at Clem.

"It's gonna sting. And since we're out in the open, I'll have to cover your mouth so you don't attract lurkers, okay?" I told her and she nodded her head. After I undid the lid, I placed my right hand over her mouth so she wouldn't attract lurkers.

I dipped a little bit of the peroxide onto the wound when Clem jolted in pain. "Sorry." I said to her, and she just shook her head, telling me it was fine. I then looked at Chris to see him struggle to stay awake. I was getting worried for him.

After I finished with the peroxide, I threaded the needle and placed the tip of it on Clem's wound.

"If it hurts too much, squeeze my arm." I told her and she nodded. I punctured the wound and she cringed. I looked to see her biting her lip, clearly trying not to scream. "You want me to stop?" I asked her, but she shook her head.

A few minutes later, I managed to wrap some gauze around her arm. I then looked to Chris had collapsed. I now was scared. I stepped over to him, checked his arm for a pulse and was relieved when I found a pulse.

"Is he okay?" Clem asked. "Yeah. He's unconscious, but he's alive." I replied, when I heard growling.

A group of lurkers were approaching us. "Clem, give me a hand here." I ordered and she obliged. I took his left arm and Clem took his right. We trudged along when Clem was attacked by a lurker. She struggled to get it off her, and I couldn't help her without letting Chris get devoured. Just then, a guy on an orange jacket came up and killed the lurker that had Clem pinned. I recognized him as Luke, one of those who escaped from Carver. I drew my Sai and threw it at another lurker.

"Hey." I said to Luke, gaining his attention. "Can you carry him while I grab that Sai?" I asked and he nodded. He picked up Chris while I ran for my Sai. I pulled it out of the lurker's head when an old man I recognized as Pete came to help us.

We managed to escape from the lurkers when we slowed to a walk. "Is he-?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"He's unconscious, but he's alive." I replied.

"Okay. I'm Luke. This is Pete." Luke introduced to Clem.

"I'm Clementine." She introduced.

"What exactly happened to you guys?" Pete asked.

"Chris and I left from Carver's camp when we ran into Clem. She was attacked by a dog when we found her. After that, we kept walking when I noticed Chris was getting exhausted. After he handed Clem to me, I tended to her arm. Then we ran into you two." I replied.

We then made our way to where Luke, Pete, and others who left Carver's camp were hiding. I explained everything I explained to Luke and Pete. Carlos, one of the escapees welcomed us with open arms. Rebecca, one of the females, was completely skeptical about us.

"Give her some time. She'll adjust." Nick told me. _"I hope so."_ I thought to myself. My worry for Chris kept growing. _"Do I like him?" _I asked myself.

**That's chapter two. Will Anne realize her true feelings for Chris? Find out as the story progresses. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Exhaustion**

**Anne's POV**

I was pacing outside the room Chris was in, really worried about him. Then Carlos came out and I immediately looked at him.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He was so exhausted, his body shut down. In a day or two, he'll be just fine." Carlos replied.

"Can I go in and see him?" I asked, and he nodded his head. I then walked past him, opened the door, and saw Chris was indeed out. I sat down next to his bed, and sighed.

_"He's so handsome when he sleeps… Wait, what am I saying?"_ I thought to myself when I felt myself blush.

Then I had an idea. I remembered he told me he loved my singing. I then picked up my guitar and was deciding what to sing. I made my decision and began strumming my guitar.

_When the days are cold_

_And the cards all fold_

_And the saints we see_

_Are all made of gold_

_When your dreams all fail_

_And the ones we hail_

_Are the worst of all_

_And the blood's run stale_

_I wanna hide the truth_

_I wanna shelter you_

_But with the beast inside_

_There's nowhere we can hide_

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come_

_This is my kingdom come_

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_Don't get too close_

_It's dark inside_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_At the curtain's call_

_It's the last of all_

_When the lights fade out_

_All the sinners crawl_

_So they dug your grave_

_And the masquerade_

_Will come calling out_

_At the mess you made_

_Don't wanna let you down_

_But I am hell bound_

_Though this is all for you_

_Don't wanna hide the truth_

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come_

_This is my kingdom come_

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_Don't get too close_

_It's dark inside_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_They say it's what you make_

_I say it's up to fate_

_It's woven in my soul_

_I need to let you go_

_Your eyes, they shine so bright_

_I wanna save that light_

_I can't escape this now_

_Unless you show me how_

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_Don't get too close_

_It's dark inside_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

I finished singing when I heard someone clapping. I turned my head to the doorway to see Carlos's daughter, Sarah, standing there.

"You're a really good singer." She said.

"Thanks." I said before she left to go back to her room. I then turned my attention back to Chris.

"Hey, Anne." I heard someone say. I turned to see Clem standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Clem." I said, waving to her to sit down. She obliged and sat beside.

"He still out?" She asked.

"Yeah. Carlos said in a day or two, he should be fine." I replied.

"I heard a guitar being played. Was it you?" She asked and I nodded my head. "Sarah said she heard you playing." She added.

"Yeah. She told me I'm a good singer." I said. Clem nodded in agreement. "Carlos told me she has an anxiety disorder. That's why he keeps her in the cabin all the time." Clem explained.

/The Next Day\

I went into Chris's room to see how he was doing. When I opened the door, I saw him on his feet, stretching his arms and legs out. I smiled wide when I saw he was awake. I ran over to him as soon as he stopped stretching and hugged him.

**Chris's POV**

I blushed the deepest red possible when Anne hugged me. When she pulled away from me, I saw her blush as deep a red as I did. Then I saw Clementine come in.

"You're awake." She said to me.

"Yeah, I am. How's your arm?" I asked.

"Better than it was." She replied.

"Good." I said.

"I take it Anne already introduced me." I said and she nodded her head. Then a Hispanic man I recognized as Carlos came into the room.

"Ah. You're awake." He said to me.

"Everyone loves stating the obvious around here, don't they?" I asked, chuckling a little.

"Why did you leave your father's camp?" He asked me.

"Remember Coleen, my step-mom?" I asked.

"Yes, of course. Why?" He asked me.

"He left her to die." I replied before explaining the supply run incident.

"I'm sorry." He said after I finished explaining.

I just shook my head.

"Don't be. I now know that man as the snarling bastard he is." I said.

He nodded then ushered me to follow him. I obliged and left the room with him.

When Carlos and I made our way downstairs, we saw everyone was surprised to see me up and moving.

My friend, Nick, finally smirked. "Well, whaddya know?" Our sleeping beauty's finally awake." He joked as I walking over to him.

"Good to see you, too, Nick." I said, chuckling.

"You really had us worried." Alvin said to me.

"Sorry about that, Al." I said to him. I then looked to Rebecca. I went wide eyed when I saw her baby belly.

"How much longer?" I asked her.

"Not much longer. A few days, max." She replied.

"She's just hoping it won't be _his._" Alvin said to me. I knew who he was talking about. "It won't be. It'll be yours, Al. I'm sure of it." I said.

Anne and Clementine came downstairs with Luke. Luke grinned when he saw me standing. "Well, ain't you a sight for sore eyes?" He asked. I chuckled.

"Nice to see you too, Luke." I said.

"I was gonna go huntin'. Wanna tag along?" Luke asked me.

"Hell yeah." I replied.

"I'm coming too." Anne said. I nodded my head.

"No way." Luke said.

"She and I were my snarling bastard of a father's best hunters. She's coming with us." I said.

"But-" Luke started.

"End of discussion." I said as Anne came to my side.

Luke, Anne, and I spotted a buck elk. Luke raised his rifle, but I lowered it.

"Are you crazy? Do you wanna lure every goddamn lurker within five miles to us?" I sternly asked.

"Good point." He reluctantly conceded. I drew my Sai and threw it directly at the heart. I smirked as the elk went down.

"Well, that's dinner." Luke said. I chuckled as we walked to the animal to see it was still breathing.

"Poor bastard." Anne said. I pulled the Sai out of the impact point and slit the elk's throat. After that, I turned to my Anne and Luke.

"So, who's carrying this delicious meat back?" I asked.

"I vote Luke." Anne said.

"I second that." I said.

"Why me?" Luke asked.

"Well, you're stronger than two teenagers." I said.

"Fine." Luke groaned.

We made it back in time to see the others were gathered in the kitchen.

"Hope you guys like meat." I said. With that, the elk was cooked and eaten. When that was done, we all decided to get some sleep.

**That's chapter three. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Half-Siblings**

**Anne's POV**

Chris was doing a lot better since the incident. I was glad to see him acting like his old self again. He started having fun again. When I found him in the common room with everyone except Nick and Carlos, he was demonstrating his skills with his Sai. I figured he should use mine as well as his. So when he stopped, I walked up to him and handed him my Sai. He grinned and took it.

After he was done showing off, he handed me back my Sai, and I put it in a holster. Sarah seemed a little scared, so I decided to calm her down.

"Don't worry, Sarah. He only uses it to kill lurkers. So you and everyone else have nothing to worry about." I said, earning a nod from Chris.

"She's right. I'm not gonna hurt anyone with it, except lurkers, and that piece of shit I called 'Dad'." He said. I then looked at him with surprise.

**Chris's POV**

I looked at Anne to see she had a look of surprise on her face.

"You mean, you want revenge?" She asked me.

"You're damn right, I do." I replied through gritted teeth. All of a sudden, I hear Nick shoot off a warning shot.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Nick demanded as everyone came outside. Sarah stayed inside while everyone gathered outside.

"What's going on?" Anne asked. I pushed through the group to the front.

"Guys, calm down! Put the goddamn guns down!" I snapped. "Now, what the hell is going-" I started when I turned around and gasped.

"CHRIS?" One of the girls asked.

"TESS?! EMILY?!" I said as I recognized the girls. I then ran to hug them.

**Anne's POV**

After Chris pulled away from Tess and Emily, he glared at Nick.

"WHAT THE HELL IS IN YOUR HEAD?! SAWDUST?!" He shouted at Nick, making everyone go wide eyed.

"Hey, I didn't know, okay?" Nick snapped. Chris started storming up to him and he looked like he was about to punch him.

"Easy, boy." I said as I stood between him and Nick before they could fight.

"She's right. You're not worth it." He said before walking back into the cabin.

**Chris's POV**

I slammed the cabin door so hard, I scared Sarah. I then realized my mistake. I forgot Carlos told me she had an anxiety disorder.

"I'm sorry, Sarah." I said as I knelt beside her. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay." She said as we both stood up. Tess and Emily came inside as we got to our feet.

"What happened to you two?" I asked them both. "We heard about what that piece of shit we called 'Daddy' did to my mom, so we left to try and find you. We walked for days before we spotted this cabin, and Nick." Tess explained.

"I still can't believe he left her to die." Emily said as she hugged me. "It's okay, Emmy. I'm here." I said as I returned the hug.

/A Few Hours Later\

I saw Nick cast an apologetic glance at me. I nodded my head, telling him he was forgiven. I then gestured to my half-sisters and he figured he had to apologize to them. He was right.

"Tess and Emily, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for pointing my rifle at you both." Nick said, earning nods from my half-sisters.

"It's okay." Tess said.

"Yeah, you were just protecting your friends." Emily said.

Nick smiled at their responses when I turned cold eyes to Carlos. He sighed as he knew he also had to apologize. "I also want to apologize for my actions." He said, earning nods from my half-sisters. He smiled as he was forgiven as well.

Anne came up to us at that point.

"Hey, Anne." Tess said. She smiled at the greeting. Tess and Anne were best friends.

"Hey, Tess. It's good to see you and Emily again." Anne said, making my half-sisters smile.

"Hey, Chris, can I talk to you, Tess, and Emily real quick? It's something important." She said to me, and my half-sisters and I rose an eyebrow.

"Sure." The three of us said at the same time. We followed Anne outside onto the porch. She stopped and turned to us. I saw her face blush the deepest red possible, which meant she really needed to get something off her chest.

I repositioned my sunglasses over my over as we waited for Anne to speak.

"Anne, you're as red as a tomato. Are you alright?" Tess asked. Anne shook her head.

"I'm just gonna say it, or I'm gonna chicken out." Anne said, and I rose an eyebrow.

"Okay. What is it?" I asked.

"Chris, I… I think I love you." She said to me, and I was astonished. I always thought Anne liked me as a friend. I also was relieved to know that she had feelings for me.

"That's… That's good. Because I love you, too." I said and she smiled. She rushed over to me and hugged me.

Tess and Emily decided to leave me and Anne on the porch. _"Great. Nothing like sibling loyalty."_ I thought to myself as Anne pulled away from me. We then walked back into the cabin and acted normal. Tess and Emily smirked at me. I just playfully shot a glare at them.

"So, why weren't your half-sisters with you on that supply run?" Luke asked me.

I shrugged. "Tess is a little stubborn to get out of bed in the mornings. Emily is, too, actually." I replied, making my half-sisters blush.

I then shot them a look that told them I embarrassed them as payback while everyone else chuckled at what I said. I then showed my half-sisters to our room.

"Here's where we're sleeping." I said, as the girls both smiled from ear to ear. "I had Nick and Luke bring up a couple extra beds." I said to them as they dove into the beds.

Since it was getting late, I decided to get some sleep as well. As soon as I lied down on the bed, I fell asleep.

**That's chapter four. I would like to thank Tess Carver and Emily Carver for letting me use their OCs in this story. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Embarrassment and Songs**

**Anne's POV**

_THWACK!_

_I yelp in pain as the fist makes contact with my cheek, I'm sent hurtling to the ground and land on my back. I sit up, clutching my cheek, and look up at my tormentors as they laugh, jeer, and scream insults at me._

_"Monster!"_

_"Freak!"_

_"Emo!"_

_"Abomination!"_

_"Ugly!"_

_"CYCLOPS!"_

_I clutch my head and look down._

_"PLEASE STOP! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?!" I scream._

_Suddenly, I'm pinned down by Josh. He grabs my left arm, grins, and pulls out a switchblade._

_"Time for some fun, Cyclops!" He sneers as he drags the blade of the knife down my arm. I scream in pain._

_"AGH!"_

_I hear more laughter. I squeeze my eyes shut._

_"SHUT UP!"_

I woke up, hyperventilating and sweating when I realized I wasn't being attacked by the bullies, but laying in my bed with my friends. I put my clothes on and walked to the porch when I saw the very person I wanted to talk to: Chris. I walked over to him and nudged his arm, and he looked at me.

"Hey, Anne. What are you doing up?" He asked me.

I sighed. "I couldn't sleep." I lied, something I hated doing to anyone, especially the boy I loved. He just nodded in understanding but I mentally kicked myself in the ass. I then looked back inside the cabin and smiled a little.

"I'm glad Tess and Emily are here with us." I said. "I'm not." He joked and I playfully punched his arm while giggling.

/The Next Morning\

Chris and I walked with Clem over to Nick and Pete since Pete offered for her to go with them to check the fish traps.

"Are you sure you want me to come, Pete?" She asked him.

"I don't see why not." He replied as I knelt down to her.

"Besides, I think you could use a little space. Get away from all the drama we've had recently." I told her.

"Nick, come talk to me for a sec." Chris said. The two walked away from us, and I couldn't help but worry.

**Chris's POV**

I finally stopped walking and turned to coldly stare at Nick.

"Anything happens to that girl, you're done. Clear?" I sternly asked. He nodded, not at all afraid of me, since he knew I was talking about Clem. I then started to walk away when Nick stopped me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Do you think your half-sister likes me?" He asked, and I rose an eyebrow.

"Which one?" I asked, since I had two half-sisters.

"Tess." He answered. I was taken aback a little, but smirked. "I'm sure she does. Last night, she and Emily kept talking about you." I replied.

When that was done, Clem walked with Nick and Pete, while Anne and I walked back to the cabin.

"What did Nick ask you?" She asked.

"He wanted to know what Tess thought of him." I replied.

"I think she likes him." She said, and I nodded in agreement. "Oh my God. Last night, she and Emmy wouldn't shut up about how cute they said he was." I said, earning a chuckle from her.

We made our way back into the cabin when I saw Tess and Emily were finally awake and talking to Sarah. I smirked as I realized a way to really embarrass Tess. I walked over to her and sat beside her.

"How'd it feel having sex with Nick in your dream last night?" I whispered in her ear and she immediately started blushing a deep crimson. Sarah, Anne, and Emily looked at her to see her wide eyed and blushing deep crimson.

"Tess, what happened?" Emily asked.

"He found out I hooked up with Nick in my dream last night." She replied, making everyone, including me, go wide eyed. "You actually did?" I asked, completely shocked. Tess then glared at me.

**Anne's POV**

"You wanna run now or later?" She asked Chris and he smirked.

"Preferably now." He said before he took off. She then screamed and started running after him. Sarah went wide eyed as Tess was mad at her half-brother.

"Are they usually like that?" Sarah asked and Emily and I nodded our heads.

"Oh, yeah. Any chance he has to embarrass one of us, he'll take it." Emily said.

"Suddenly, I'm grateful I'm an only child." I joked. Sarah and Emily laughed while I chuckled.

Everyone came running into the common room after hearing Tess scream. "What happened?" Carlos asked. "Chris embarrassed Tess." Emily replied. I then explained what he did to embarrass her.

"Wow. I never knew he could do that." Luke said.

"Oh, he's done worse. When he and I were at home, before hell broke loose, he snuck into my room and stole my favorite bra. I looked around my room frantically until I saw him standing in my doorway, smirking. I then realized what happened to my bra and demanded he tell me what he did with it. He then took off running and I chased him down. He ran all around the house with my bra in his hand." Emily said.

"Yeah, and then she tackled me and knocked my ass out and took the bra back. Sorry about that, by the way, Emmy." Chris said.

I gasped when I saw he had a black eye. "Jesus, Tess." I said. "Hey, he needed to be taught a lesson." Tess said. Sarah then looked to Chris.

"Can you sing?" She asked him and he flashed a new level of red.

"A- A little." He replied sheepishly and I scoffed.

"Are you kidding me? Most everybody loved you three singing." I said, making the three half-siblings blush like crazy.

"Sing something." Sarah said.

"Okay. We'll do a song the three of us love." Chris said as everyone waited.

_[Tess]_

_Uh huh!_

_It's Iggy Iggs!_

_I got one more problem with you girl_

_One less one less!_

_Problem_

_[Emily]_

_Hey baby even though I hate ya!_

_I wanna love ya_

_I want you!_

_And even though I can't forgive you_

_I really want ta_

_I want you!_

_Tell me, tell me baby_

_Why can't you leave me?_

_Cause even though I shouldn't want it_

_I gotta have it_

_I want you!_

_Head in the clouds_

_Got no weight on my shoulders_

_I should be wiser_

_And realize that I've got_

_[Chris]_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_[Emily]_

_I got one less, one less problem_

_[Chris]_

_One less problem without ya_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_[Emily]_

_I got one less, one less problem_

_I know you're never gonna wake up_

_I gotta give up_

_But it's you!_

_I know I shouldn't ever call back_

_Or let you come back_

_But it's you!_

_Every time you touch me_

_And say you love me_

_I get a little bit breathless_

_I shouldn't want it_

_But it's you!_

_Head in the clouds_

_Got no weight on my shoulders_

_I should be wiser_

_And realize that I've got_

_[Chris]_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_[Emily]_

_I got one less, one less problem_

_[Chris]_

_One less problem without ya_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_[Emily]_

_I got one less, one less problem_

_[Tess]_

_It's Iggy Iggs!_

_Uh!_

_What you got?_

_Smart money bettin'_

_I'll be better off without you_

_In no time_

_I'll be forgettin' all about you_

_You saying that you know_

_But I really really doubt you_

_Understand my life is easy_

_When I ain't around you_

_Iggy Iggy_

_To biggie to be here stressin'_

_I'm thinkin' I love the thought of you_

_More than I love your presence_

_And the best thing now_

_Is probably for you to exit_

_I let you go_

_Let you back_

_I finally learned my lesson!_

_No half-stepping_

_Either you want it or you just playin'_

_I'm listening to you knowin'_

_I can't believe what you're sayin'_

_There's a million you's baby boo_

_So don't be dumb_

_I got 99 problems_

_But you won't be one_

_Like what!_

_[Emily]_

_One less, one less problem_

_One less, one less problem_

_Head in the clouds_

_Got no weight on my shoulders_

_I should be wiser_

_And realize that I've got (I've got)_

_[Chris]_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_[Emily]_

_I got one less, one less problem_

_[Chris]_

_One less problem without ya_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_[Emily]_

_I got one less, one less problem_

_[Chris]_

_One less problem without ya_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_I got!_

_One less problem without ya!_

_[Emily]_

_I got one less, one less problem_

After they were done singing, we all decided to wait until morning to look for the others, since they hadn't returned yet. We all went to our rooms and fell asleep.

**That's chapter five. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Explaining and New Allies**

**Chris's POV**

I yawned as I woke up. The sky was a light purple, so that meant it was early in the morning...

And Nick, Pete, and Clementine STILL aren't back yet...

I got up, put on my sunglasses and headed down into the living room, seeing Alvin, Luke, and Rebecca standing there.

"Seriously, they've been gone all day!" Alvin said. "Someone's gotta go look for 'em!"

"But Alvin~!" Rebecca protested. "We'll be okay, Bec. We'll be back soon." Alvin told her before he and Luke grabbed a rifle and headed into the kitchen and out the back door.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"They're not back yet, so Luke and Alvin are going to look for them." Rebecca explained.

"Well, I'm sure they'll be back soon." I told her with a yawn.

"Tired?" She asked me, and I nodded my head.

"Yeah." I replied, rubbing my eyes to wake myself up. When I could finally see straight, I looked at her and saw she had a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Anne still asleep?" She asked and I blushed.

"Yeah. She's not exactly a morning person sometimes. If she's up before anyone, and she is bored out of her mind, she'll sneak up on someone and forcibly wake them up." I said. "Sounds like you were a victim." She said. "Yeah, I was." I said before explaining when she walked into my mobile home and woke me up.

"Wow. She did that to you?" She asked me.

"Yeah. I can still feel the pain from her beating me with a bat to this day." I replied.

"Sorry about that, by the way." I heard Anne say. Rebecca and I turned to see her coming into the living room.

"It's okay." I said as she sat down on the couch. She and I looked at each other and blushed. Rebecca smirked at the sight.

"How did Anne end up in your dad's camp?" Rebecca asked me. "I'll tell you if you never associate me with that piece of shit I called 'Dad'." I replied and she nodded her head.

"My half-sisters and I were on a supply run and were about to head back when Anne showed up and told a lurker was chasing her. I drew my Sai and snuck up to the lurker. I stabbed it in the head, then looked at Anne to see she was exhausted, which told me she had been running for a long time. She passed out due to exhaustion as I came back from killing it. Tess, Emily, and I picked her up and we took off back to Bill's camp. She's stayed with us ever since." I explained.

"Then my mom died, and Chris and Anne took off. Emily and I left to try to find him after we learned how he left my mom to die and decided he wasn't our father anymore. That's when we arrived here." Tess added. We looked to see my half-sisters were coming to join us. Carlos was walking down with them.

"Ever play chess, Chris?" He asked me and I shook my head. "I've played poker before, though. With my half-sisters, naturally." I said.

"Bill always was a bad poker player." Rebecca said. I chuckled.

"Luke could never beat Pete at poker. No matter what." Carlos said. "Yeah. Pete told me he's got a good bullshit detector. That's why Luke could never win." I said, earning a chuckle from the others.

Just then, we heard a knock on the door, and we all froze.

"I'll deal with it." I said as I drew my Sai and walked slowly to the door. I opened the door and pointed my Sai outside and was surprised. Instead of my "father", I saw two girls, a brunette and a blonde, standing at the door. "Who are you two?" I asked, not lowering my Sai.

"My name is Rebecca Townley. This is my friend, Jennifer Hudson." The blonde said.

"And no, I'm not in any way connected to the actress." The brunette said.

"Do us a favor, and please point that knife somewhere else." The blonde, Rebecca, said to me and I scoffed.

"It's not a knife, sweetheart. It's a Sai." I said.

"I don't fucking care if it's a salad tong. Point it someplace else." The brunette, Jennifer, said to me. I lowered it and placed it back in the holster.

"Who are you two working for?" I asked.

"We ain't working for anyone." Jennifer said. I then guessed she was from somewhere in the south.

"Where are you two from?" I asked.

"I'm from Britain, and Jennifer's from Texas." Rebecca replied.

"How did you two find this place?" I asked, and Jennifer groaned in annoyance.

"Are we almost done playing 20 Questions?" She asked and I glared at her.

"I'm making sure of a few things, that's all. There are people out there looking for us." I said.

"Well, whoever they are, we ain't with them. We're exhausted, hungry, and looking for a place to rest." Jennifer said when I looked over to Rebecca.

"You okay, Blondie?" I asked her.

"Yes, I'm just… tired." Rebecca replied.

"You better be okay. I still don't trust you two." I said.

"Don't worry about…" She started before her eyes looked droopy.

"Ah shit." I said as she fell to the ground unconscious. I tried to help her, but Jennifer stopped me.

"Don't touch her!" She said, earning my icy cold glare. "If you value her life, you'll let me take her inside. We have a doctor." I said to her with venom in my words. She then stood to the side and allowed me to pick her up.

We walked over to the couch and I set Rebecca down on it. I then ushered Carlos to come to my side. He obliged and examined her. After a few minutes, he backed away.

"Well, what's your diagnosis, Doc?" I asked.

"She's exhausted. I suggest she get plenty of rest. She can eat when she wakes up." Carlos said, and we all agreed.

/A Few Hours Later\

Rebecca was waking up when I looked over to her.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." I joked, earning a laugh from the others. Carlos walked over to her with a bowl of soup.

"Here. Eat up. You'll feel better." He said as she gladly took the bowl and ate the soup.

After she finished, she looked at him. "Thank you so much." She said to him and he smiled.

"Don't mention it." He said as I walked over to her with Jennifer.

"Carlos here is a doctor. He said you passed out from exhaustion." I said. We then walked over to the other girls.

"Tomorrow, we have to go find the others." Tess said, desperately worried about Nick.

"We will, Tess." I said before looking at our new arrivals. "If either of you knows how to fight, you're welcome to come with us." I told them and Jennifer nodded her head.

Once that was decided, we all went to bed.

**That's chapter six. I would like to thank I heart Lyoko for letting me use his OCs, Jennifer and Rebecca. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Unexpected Visitor**

**Anne's POV**

I yawned and stretched as I woke up. I placed my bandana over my eye and walked out of my room and saw Chris sharpening his Sai and a spare machete he found. I rose an eyebrow.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" I asked him and he nodded his head.

"It's the same principle as a sword." He replied to me.

"Okay, if you're sure." I said when I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw someone running toward the back door.

"Someone's coming!" I said, causing those that were leaving to look at the door. We were all relieved when the door opened.

"Clem!" I shouted as she came in the kitchen.

"Where are you guys going?" She asked the others after waving to me.

"We were gonna take off to find you, Nick, and Pete. You were gone for two days." Chris replied.

"What happened?" Tess asked.

"We were attacked. Pete was bitten. Nick took off after we fled. Pete told me to come back and tell you guys what happened." Clem replied.

"Okay. We're going to find Luke and Alvin and tell them that you came back. Anne, Clem, and Rebecca, stay here and keep an eye on Sarah, please." Carlos said as he and the others walked out the door.

"Be careful." I said to Chris. "Always am." He said and I smiled.

I then sighed with sadness as he stepped out the door. I turned and saw Rebecca smirking.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" I asked and she shook her head.

"You love that guy, don't you?" She asked me, and I knew she was referring to Chris. I sighed and nodded my head in defeat.

"I love him." I replied and then saw her smiling.

"He loves you too. I can see the way you two look at each other." She said, and I groaned a little.

"I'm gonna go check on Sarah." I said. "I'll come with you." Clem said and I nodded my head.

Clem and I walked into Sarah's room and were met with a bright flash. I closed my eye when the flash hit me.

"What was that?" I asked as my vision readjusted and I saw Sarah holding a camera in her hands.

"I found this under the house. There's all kinds of cool stuff down there." Sarah replied as she handed the camera to Clem. "Take one of me." Sarah said. Clem took the camera and then Sarah backed up a few steps. "Get me in a good pose." She said. Clem took the picture.

After that, she held up a gun and I went wide eyed. "Relax. It's not loaded." She told me, then looked at Clem. "Will you show me how to use it?" She asked her.

"Sure." Clem said.

"What should I shoot?" Sarah asked, looking for something to pretend to shoot at.

"First thing you gotta remember, that is not a toy." I said.

"I know." Sarah said, then aimed the gun at Clem's head. I went wide eyed as Clem ducked.

"What are you doing?" Clem asked, and Sarah got scared.

"I'm sorry!" She said as she dropped the gun. "It's okay, Sarah. Just be careful." I said.

Just then, Rebecca came running up to us.

"What is it?" I asked.

"There's someone at the door." She replied.

"Sarah and I might know who he is. You and Clem need to try and get rid of him." I told her and she and Clem nodded their heads while Sarah and I got under the bed.

"Hi, girls." He said.

_"Oh, fuck. He's in the house."_ I thought as I looked to see Sarah was started to hyperventilate. I grabbed her hand, and she took that as a sign to calm down.

"What are your names?" I heard him ask.

"Carley." I heard Clem say.

"Kyra." I heard Rebecca say.

"Nice to meet you, Carley and Kyra. My name's George." He said when I heard footsteps.

"This is a nice place. Kinda cozy. Is there anyone else around?" He asked them. "Just the two of us." Rebecca replied.

"Hmm. Well, then. I'll cut to the chase; I'm out looking for my people, eleven of them to be exact. They've been gone a long time, and… I'm worried they might've gotten lost. Maybe you girls have seen them?" He asked them. "What do they look like?" Rebecca asked.

"Couple of farm boys and an old man… Spanish man and his daughter. Quiet girl, about Kyra's height. A big, black guy about this size… A pretty little pregnant lady… A girl with caramel brown hair… pretty smart… a girl with red and black hair… a girl with a bandana over her eye… Funny one, usually wears a black flannel shirt… and finally, a muscular boy, blood red eyes, wears sunglasses to hide them." Carver said.

"That's a lot of people to lose." Clem said. "I agree." Rebecca said.

I was shocked about what I heard about Chris. _"His eyes are blood red?"_ I thought to myself. I then heard footsteps coming up the stairs and then I heard a door opening.

"Huh, I knew someone who had a guitar." Carver said.

I went wide eyed. _"Shit! He's in my room!"_ I thought.

"Carley found it when we first came here. She's been trying to play it." Rebecca said.

"Looks like the one that girl had…" Carver said.

"Weird…" I heard Clem say.

"Yeah… it is…"

The footsteps grew louder until they reached the door. Carver opened it, stepped in, and I got scared he would find us.

"Like we said, we're the only ones here." Clem said.

"Seems that way. Sorry. Didn't mean to be rude. Just couldn't leave you here with a good conscience if someone was poking around, right?" He asked them.

"Right." Rebecca said.

"Sure." Clem said.

He knelt down and picked up the picture of Sarah. I looked at her and saw she put her hands over her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

"Who is this?" He asked, showing the photo to Clem and Rebecca. "My sister. She's dead." Clem lied. "She died a few days ago, actually." Rebecca added.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Carver said.

"Thanks..." Clementine said.

Silence followed before Carver spoke again. "You have no idea who these people are, do you?" He asked, and now, I was terrified._"Dammit! He's figured us out!" _I thought.

"We don't know what you're talking about." Rebecca said.

"When you met 'em, how much did they trust you two?" He asked them.

"What's your point?" Clem asked.

"If people don't trust you, how can you trust them?" He asked. I felt a feeling of extreme hatred in me._ "He used to say that to us at the camp."_ I thought.

"Well, I think I've troubled you two long enough. I'll let myself out." He said as he stepped out of the room and headed for the front door.

"Don't come back!" Clem demanded.

"You two have a good day now." He said as he left. I climbed out from under the bed, with Sarah in tow. We all then watched him disappear into the woods. During the time, I seethed.

"W-What if he comes back?" Sarah asked.

I sighed.

"Chris is NOT gonna be happy about this…" I said cryptically.

We waited for the others to get back. I was pacing with Rebecca while Clem and Sarah sat down on the couch.

"We have to find the others." I said.

"Agreed." Rebecca said, while Clem nodded.

"We can't go outside!" Sarah said as we all started for the kitchen, just in time to see everyone, including Nick, enter the kitchen.

"Clementine!" Nick said as Sarah ran to Carlos and hugged him while I ran to Chris and hugged him.

Sarah looked down at her feet. "A man was here." She said. Everyone looked to her in horror while Chris inhaled sharply through his teeth.

"What did she just say?" Bec asked. "Someone was here. Clem and I talked to him." Rebecca replied. "And you opened the door for him?!" Bec asked.

"Calm down, Bec." Jennifer said.

"We didn't open the door! I was going to lock it, but he just walked in." Clem said.

"I can vouch for that." Rebecca said.

"And you two just let them do it?!" Bec asked me, and I was getting furious.

"Hey, Sarah and I hid under a bed, okay?!" I stated.

"It's true!" Sarah backed me up.

"Who was he? Did he say what his name was?" Carlos asked desperately.

"I know EXACTLY who it was!" Chris snarled.

"He said his name was George, but I believe he was lying." Rebecca said.

"Maybe it wasn't him?" Bec suggested, while I just scoffed.

"You know damn well who it was." Alvin growled.

"Look, girls. Just tell us what he looked like. What was he wearing?" Carlos asked Clementine and Rebecca.

"He was wearing a brown coat…" Clem replied, as Chris started panting with anger.

"Did it have a lining? A collar?" Carlos asked.

"Yes. Fur lining." Rebecca replied.

"That's definitely him!" Emily exclaimed as Chris slashed a drawer with his machete.

"GODDAMMIT!" He roared as he slashed a cabinet. I looked at Sarah and saw her hiding behind her dad.

"Chris, calm down. You're scaring Sarah." I barked.

"You're not gonna hurt anyone, are you, Daddy?" Sarah asked Carlos.

"Of course he won't, Sarah. Your dad's the nicest person I know. Which is why he's not gonna do anything crazy, or… _not nice, _right?" Luke assured her. I looked at Chris to see his half-sisters were trying to calm him down.

Carlos placed a hand on his daughter's back. "You know these are bad people, sweetie. They will do or say anything to hurt us…"

"What do you think? Did it seem like he was coming back?" Luke asked.

"HE BETTER NOT!" Chris bellowed, full of intense hatred.

"He saw this picture of me." Sarah said as she was pulling out the photo of herself and showed it to Carlos.

"A picture?! What are you doing taking pictures?!" He furiously asked. He then turned to me. "And you let this happen?!" He asked me, and now I was past my breaking point.

"Hey, don't pin that one on me! How the fuck was I supposed to know Carver would show up?!" I asked.

"Carlos, Chris, and Anne! Calm down! You're scaring Sarah." Luke said.

Clem walked to my side. "It was my fault. I took the picture." She admitted.

"No! I asked her to! It's my fault!" Sarah said.

Carlos sighed. "Sarah… ?"

"He saw my guitar." I said, then heard Chris roar.

"Now he KNOWS we're here!" He shouted as he shoved everything off the counter.

"He was scouting. We got lucky. He wasn't expecting to find us. Clementine and Rebecca must've surprised him. If they hadn't been there… Well, he was too smart to stick around, but he'll be back with the rest. We don't have much time." Carlos said.

"He's right. Everyone pack your stuff! We're moving out!" Luke ordered.

Alvin left the room furious. Bec followed after him. "Alvin, wait!" She said.

"Who is this guy?" Clem asked.

Chris took a deep breath. "You wanna know who he is? He's the piece of shit that killed my step-mother!" Chris exclaimed as he walked out of the kitchen, with Tess and Emily trailing him.

Carlos looked at Clementine. "Clem, I don't know what he told you and Rebecca, but William Carver is a dangerous man. He's the leader of a camp not far from here, and he is VERY smart… We all were… lucky to escape." He said, sighing.

"How do you, Chris and his half-sisters know him?" She asked me. "Let's just say the four of us were members of his community once…" I replied.

"Why is Chris so angry?" She asked me, and Chris came back.

"Because he's the snarling bastard Tess, Emily, and I called 'Father'…" He replied, then put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen to me, Clementine. Now that he's seen you and Rebecca, you'll be safer with us." He said.

"Well, if she's going with y'all, then so am I." Jennifer said.

Clem then looked at everyone. "I know where Pete is." She said.

Everyone all had their things packed and came back into the kitchen.

"Chris, can I ask you something, in private?" I asked him, and he nodded his head. We walked into the living room and I felt myself blush the deepest red humanly possible.

"You okay, Anne?" He asked me.

"Y- Yeah. I just wanted to know if you wanted to go out w- with me." I sheepishly said.

"Well, let me ask you a question, Anne Marshall." He said and I looked at him. "What took you so long to ask?"

I smiled from ear to ear. I jumped into his arms and kissed him, which he started returning.

After we broke the kiss, we walked back into the kitchen, holding hands. Tess and Emily smirked at the sight.

"About fucking time." Tess said. We all then followed Clem into the woods to find Pete.

**That's chapter seven. Will the group find Nick? Find out in the next chapter. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Revelations and Nightmares**

**Anne's POV**

We kept following Clem when I wanted to ask Chris something.

"Baby?" I asked him and he looked at me.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"When Carver was at the cabin, he mentioned you had blood red eyes. Is it true?" I asked him.

He slowed his pace and so did I.

"If I show you my eyes, promise me you won't make fun of them." He said. "I promise." I said.

He then removed his sunglasses and showed me his eyes. "They're beautiful." I said. "Thanks." He said.

We then looked to see Clem stray from the path.

"Go on ahead, sweetie. I'll ask Emmy to keep me company." He told me, his voice cracking, and I figured he wanted to cry. Emily came over to his side as I walked over to Clem.

**Chris's POV**

As Emmy came to my side, she could see the sadness in my eyes and opened her arms. I fell into them and started sobbing. She knew I wasn't crying about Coleen, but my past.

"It's okay, bro. Let it out." I heard her say and I obliged. I knew I wouldn't be able to show Anne my eyes without crying.

"I knew it would happen if I showed her." I managed to say through sobs.

"Let me call for Tess." She said and I nodded my head.

"Tess, can you come over here real quick?" She asked and I heard Tess approaching. She didn't have to ask why I was crying. She just embraced me.

"Every fucking night I wake up remembering how bad it was for me, Tessie. I can still hear their voices to this day." I said as I kept crying into her chest.

"Shh, shh. I'm here." She said as I wrapped around her tighter.

"I don't know why I can't show them without bursting to tears." I said.

"They're not gonna hurt you, Chris. Anne, Emmy, and I are here for you." She told me. "I know. It still hurts so much to think about what they did to me." I said.

"Chris? Are you alright?" I heard Sarah ask me.

"No, Sarah. He isn't." Tess replied, since I was in no condition to talk.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"If we tell you, promise us you won't say a thing to anyone." Emily said. "I promise." Sarah said. "If something's wrong with him, we all deserve to know." Carlos said. "Okay. But none of this goes back to Anne. Clear?" Tess asked, and everyone nodded their heads.

"It's about Chris's eyes. They're blood red." Tess said and Rebecca went wide eyed.

"Carver mentioned that." She said.

"Yes. And because of his eye color, he was constantly attacked by bullies. Only Emily and I were there to protect him at school. He would tell our parents, but Carver never believed him. My mom did and always did what she could to comfort him. One day, Emily and I weren't there for him and he was viciously attacked. He had to go to the ER one day. He nearly died, and would have if paramedics hadn't arrived." Tess said. I looked at everyone to see they had looks of horror on their faces.

"We were so scared that he wasn't gonna make it. But we were so relieved when we found out he was gonna be alright. Tess, Coleen, and I ran into the room to see him. We were so happy when he smiled at us. After that day, he wore his sunglasses and always refused to take them off. After a couple of days, the teachers all stopped trying to get him to take them off." Emily added.

Sarah walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry to hear that." She said.

"Yeah. No one should have to deal with that kind of abuse." Luke said.

"Thanks, guys. You have no idea how good that makes me feel." I said as Anne and Clem were coming back. Nick had a devastated look on his face. We all walked over and saw Pete's corpse.

Jesus...

"I'm so sorry, Nick." Tess said as he hugged her.

We all kept walking after that.

* * *

**Anne's POV**

I looked at Chris and saw he looked a little down. So I decided to surprise him and kiss him to try and make him feel better. At first he blushed, but then he smiled and kissed me right back.

_"Mission accomplished." _I thought to myself.

"Hey, Chris, can we talk to you for a sec?" Nick called for him and I pouted as he walked over to them. I walked over to a tree to wait for him so we could kiss again. Suddenly, I felt something wrap around my ankle, then the next thing I know, I ended up hanging upside down, screaming.

"GAH! GODDAMN IT! WHAT THE FUCK! WHY AM I STUCK ON THIS GODDAMN TREE?!" I furiously asked.

* * *

**Chris's POV**

I looked at Tess with shock. "When the fuck did this happen?" I asked after seeing the positive pregnancy test.

"Not long after Carlos and all them arrived at Howe's." She replied.

I then turned my eyes to glare at Nick. "What the fuck were you-?" I started when I heard Anne screaming.

I went wide eyed and ran back to where she was when I looked up and laughed.

"Just hanging out, baby?" I joked, making everyone laugh.

"Very funny… Now GET ME DOWN!" She demanded.

"Okay. But remember you asked for it. Emily, I'll cut her down and you catch her." I said then climbed to the where Anne was hanging. Emily walked underneath Anne and I cut her down.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" I heard Anne scream as Emily held held arms open for her. She fell right into her arms, but they both still fell to the ground. I climbed down as Tess helped them both to their feet. After that little fun was over, we decided to keep moving.

* * *

**Anne's POV**

After a few more hours, I looked up to see it was getting dark.

"We should stop for the night." I said.

"I'm with Anne. I need to rest." Bec agreed. Carlos looked hesitant, but Luke spoke up.

"Alright. You guys get some rest. I'll take watch." He said.

"You sure, Luke?" Chris asked. "I'm sure, man." Luke replied. Chris just shrugged and set up his sleeping bag next to mine. I lay still in my sleeping bag for a few minutes. Then I felt my eye start to droop and then fell asleep.

_I heard what sounded like waves crashing which told me I was near water. I then heard chuckling and turned around. I saw the kids that bullied me were forcing me towards the cliff. "Please, don't do this." I pleaded, to no avail._

_"We just want to have a little fun, Cyclops." One of them said as four of them grabbed my arms and legs._

_"NO! PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS!" I screamed, but they threw me over the edge. I screamed as I fell._

"NOOOOOO!" I screamed, hyperventilating as I woke up.

"Baby?" Chris asked me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just had a nightmare, that's all." I told him.

"Talk to me about it in the morning, okay?" He asked and I nodded my head.

"Could I crawl into your sleeping bag with you?" I asked him and he smiled.

"Of course." He replied and I crawled out of my sleeping bag and into his. We placed our arms around each other and fell asleep.

**That's chapter eight. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Anger Management**

**Anne's POV**

We had been walking for a week, but I was worried about Tess. She'd been throwing every morning for the past week, and I was started to wonder if she would make it.

"Sweetie?" I asked, and Chris looked at me.

"What is it, Annie?" He asked me.

"Is Tess okay?" I asked.

He sighed and slowed his pace and I matched his movements. We were behind the group when he looked at me.

"What I'm about to tell you can't go back to anyone but us, Nick, Emmy, and Tess. Promise?" He asked me. "I promise." I replied.

He then leaned his mouth towards my ear. "Tess is pregnant." He whispered and I was shocked. "How far along is she?" I asked. "About six or seven months." He replied.

**Chris's POV**

I looked at Anne to see she was shocked to hear about Tess.

"That's why Nick and Tess wanted to talk to you." She said and I nodded my head. I then looked over to see a bridge and Clementine scouting with her binoculars.

"See anything?" Luke asked.

"She better see something." Alvin groaned. "We've been walking for a goddamn week."

"There's a lift or something." Clem said.

"Chair lift? Must be that ski lodge." Luke said before looking back down at the map.

"I've never been skiing before." Clem thought aloud.

"Bec and I went once." Alvin said.

"It wasn't pretty." Bec said, chuckling.

"Coleen took me and Emmy once." I said.

"I remember you fell on your ass." Emily said.

"At least I didn't fall face first." I retorted. I then looked to see Anne talking with Tess. Emily noticed this and rose an eyebrow. "You told her, didn't you?" She asked me and I nodded my head, expecting a slap in the face. It never came. She just nodded her head.

"There's a building on the mountain." I heard Clem say, gaining everyone's attention.

"What's it look like?" I asked.

"It's big." She replied.

"Sounds like a good place to spend the night." Anne said.

"There's a little house by the bridge." Clem said.

"How big is it?" Tess asked.

"Pretty small." Clem replied before putting her binoculars away and climbing down from the rock.

"We have to cross that bridge. Let's go." Carlos said crossing his arms.

"Hold on now. We can't just go sprinting across that thing, okay?" Luke pointed out as I walked over to them.

"Luke's right, Carlos. If we get spotted, we're gonna be trapped." I said.

"Going around that lake will take too long." Carlos said.

"Right, but we've got no idea what's out there. I'm gonna sneak across to make sure it's clear before we bring the whole group over." Luke said.

"Anne and I can use our Sais to cover you." I said as Anne came to my side.

"You really think splitting up the group is a good idea?" Carlos asked.

"We never said it was a GOOD idea, but it's a helluva lot better than risking everyone's ass at once." I replied.

"What's the plan, then?" Anne asked.

"You and Chris cover us from here while Clem and I scoot across low and slow and make sure nobody's waiting for us on the other side." Luke replied.

I turned and knelt to Clem's level. "Once our Sais are thrown, could you hold onto them for us?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She replied.

"The rest of us will have a hard time covering you from back here." Alvin stated.

"Well, we'll just turn around if it gets hairy." Luke said.

"Clementine should stay here. She's-"

Luke cut him off. "She's what?"

"She's just a little girl, Luke." Carlos replied.

"Carlos, when Anne and I found her, she was fighting off a dog. Anne told me that while I was comatose, she kept a lurker from biting her. This 'little girl' is tough as nails." I said.

"I can do it." Clem said confidently.

"It's gonna be fine. We'll signal you guys in ten minutes. Just watch for a light at the far side. Chris and Anne, do you guys need scopes?" Luke asked us and I shook my head.

"I have two in my bag." I replied.

"I can go too." Nick offered, but Luke refused.

"You can stay with the group." Luke said, looking to me for support.

"He's right, Nick. With you in your condition, that's way too risky. Besides, you need to be there for Tess." I said.

"I'm fine, guys." Nick insisted.

Carlos crossed his arms. "I don't like this." He said.

"You don't like anything, Carlos." I said.

"Yeah, when's the last time you liked anything?" Luke asked.

"I'll cover you." Nick said.

"No, Nick. You're not in good condition to do that." I said.

"I can help them, Chris."

"NO!" I shouted.

"You're staying back here with the group." I added.

"But…" Nick started.

"End of discussion." I said. Nick reluctantly conceded and went to sit with Tess.

Luke sighed. "Come on, Clem." He said as they walked to the bridge while Anne and I walked to the rock where Clem was scouting. We drew our Sais and stood ready to throw them just in case.

"Baby, don't you think you were a little hard on Nick?" She asked me as I sighed and pulled out the scopes and handed one to her.

"Tess needs him. And with what happened to his mom and Pete…" I replied, trailing off.

A few minutes later, I saw lurkers attacking Luke and Clem. Two were in front of Clem, so I threw my Sai, and Anne matched my movements. After the Sais made impact, Clem looked back to us and smirked. She then pulled the Sais out of the lurkers' heads and ran to help Luke.

A few minutes after that, I looked and saw a strange person in front of Clem and Luke. Nick saw the figure and ran to help them.

"NICK!" I called, but he was too far ahead already.

"Grrr! I'm gonna kill him!" Tess said.

"Not if Luke beats you to it." I said. When we made our way to the bridge, I saw Nick pointing his rifle at someone, but couldn't tell who. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out and we ran to see what happened.

Once we were on the bridge, I saw someone go over the edge. We managed to catch up to Nick, Luke, and Clem.

"Did I get him? Where is he?!" I heard Nick ask.

"I told you not to shoot!" Luke exclaimed. "Why didn't you wait for our signal?"

"We thought you were in trouble! You were wavin' your arms, so I thought you meant shoot!"

"He was going to help us…" Clem explained. Anne and I looked at each other confused.

"How do you know that?!" Nick asked scowling.

Luke shook his head. "Dammit, Nick! I told you not to shoot!" He snapped.

"How was I supposed to hear you? You gave me a clear shot!" Nick retorted.

"SHUT UP!" I shouted, surprising everyone. "That shot rang out for miles. Let's just get the fuck off of this bridge and explain everything on the other side." I ordered, taking point. As Anne and I passed Clem, she gave us back our Sais.

Once we were off the bridge, I turned to face Luke, Clem, and Nick.

"Someone better start talking or I'll get answers my way." I harshly said.

"Clem and I ran into someone, and Nick here thought he was gonna shoot us, so he shot him." Luke explained. Everyone went wide eyed.

"WHAT?!" Tess exclaimed.

"Who was that back there?" Bec asked as she leaned over, holding her back. Emily walked over to her to help her.

"Looked like he had a gun on you." Alvin said, before I shot him a glare, telling him to shut up.

"That asshole drew on me! He was about to shoot!" Nick said.

"Oh, was he?" Luke asked.

"I'm telling you, he drew first!" Nick defended, but I was already getting furious. Anne came to try and calm me down.

"Baby, don't touch me right now. I don't wanna hurt you." I said to her.

"That's not what it looked like to me!" Tess said.

"Everybody calm down!" Clem said.

"What did you see, Clem? Was that guy gonna shoot?" Alvin asked.

"Fuck you, Luke! You've been on my case the whole week!" Nick snapped. "And why do you think that is?" Luke calmly asked.

"He wasn't gonna do anything…" Clem said.

"I know what I saw!" Nick insisted while scowling. I walked up to him and punched him in the face so hard, he went to the ground.

"WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?!" He asked me. "JUST BECAUSE IT _LOOKED_ LIKE HE WAS GONNA SHOOT DOESN'T GIVE YOU A GODDAMN REASON TO PUT A FUCKING BULLET IN HIS NECK, YOU DUMBASS! YOU COULDA HIT CLEM OR LUKE, GODDAMMIT!" I roared. "Yeah, but I didn't!" Nick snapped and at this point, I was beyond furious.

Tess came and stood between us. "ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" She screamed. I then glared at Nick, and spat in his face before I walked off into the woods with my machete in my hand. Tess, Anne, and Emily knew what I was gonna do, but they didn't follow me.

**Anne's POV**

Clem was gonna go talk to Chris when I put hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Let him go, Clem. He just needs to let out a little steam." I told her before I turned to see Luke and Nick at it again.

"Look, I know Pete was close to you, but-" Luke started before Nick stopped him. "Don't fucking talk about him!" He snapped when I drew my Sai and my knife and stood in between them before a fight could break out.

"Do you think he was with Carver?" Carlos asked.

"I don't know… I- No. I don't think so. But he fell over." Luke replied. "He fell off the damn bridge?!" Alvin asked.

"We need to keep moving." Carlos ordered. "I can't. I need a minute…" Bec said as she sat down. "And I refuse to leave Chris." I said, looking to his sisters for support.

"Fine." Carlos reluctantly agreed. "Luke, can I talk to you for a minute?" Carlos asked. He and Luke then walked to a nearby tree. Nick scowled as he stormed over to a bench by the station. Chris came back, but his clothes and his machete were covered in lurker blood. I ran to him.

"Jesus Christ! What happened to you?" I asked as Tess and Emily came running to him too. He shrugged.

"Eh, the usual. Lurkers tried to bite me, I stabbed them. End of story." He replied smugly before looking at Nick. "I'm gonna go apologize to Nick." He said.

"We'll come with you." I said, and he nodded his head. Alvin called Clem over to him and she walked to him while the four of us walked over to Nick.

He looked at Chris and went wide eyed.

"Dude, what happened to you?" He asked.

"Eh, same old sob story. Lurkers tried to bite me, I cut out their jaws, then stabbed them in the heads. End of story." Chris replied. "But that's not why I came over here. I came over here to apologize for punching you square in the mouth." Chris said.

"Bygones, man." Nick said and I smiled. "We good? No plans to murder anyone in their sleep now?" I asked. "That's a boring way to do it." Chris said. "I wasn't planning on it either." Nick said.

After that, we walked away to Alvin and Bec.

"You guys got any food? Bec's dying here." He said. "Alvin, I told you, I'm fine." Bec insisted. All four of us shook our heads. "We can check out the station. That guy said he had food there." Clem said.

"Let's go take a look, then." Chris said. "Jeez, man. Is all that lurker blood?" Alvin asked him.

"What do you think?" Chris retorted. All five of us then walked back to the station to look around.

**That's chapter nine. I know it's a cliffy and I'm sorry. Next chapter will pick up right after Nick walks over to Luke and Carlos to talk to them. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Old Friends**

**Anne's POV**

Clem, Chris, Tess, Emily, and I were inside the small building to see what kinds of food we could find for Bec. Clem headed over to a bed near the fireplace.

"I guess that man slept here…" She thought aloud. "He must have." Tess agreed.

"It's too small for all five of us to search it. I suggest someone go and make sure everyone okay." Chris said.

He sounded like he was getting scared. His claustrophobia must've been starting to get to him.

"I'll go." Emily said as she headed for the door when Tess stopped her.

"No, I'll go." Tess said, but Chris looked worried.

"You sure, Tessie?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She said as she walked out the door. I looked at Chris to see he looked extremely worried and Emily and I knew exactly why.

"She'll be fine." Emily and I assured him. Emily then went to keep her pregnant half-sister company.

Clem wandered over to a trunk. Next to it were several cans. Chris knelt down and observed them.

"Empty…" He muttered.

"That man said he had lots of food. There's gotta still be something left." Clem said. I was about to grab the lid when Chris stopped me.

"It needs a key, baby." He said to me, pointing to a lock.

"That man probably had it." Clem guessed as she walked over to a table and picked up a survival knife and slashed the air with it.

"Feels pretty good." She said and Chris looked at her.

"Keep it. It'll come in handy if we run into lurkers." He said to her. I then looked at the lock and had an idea. I drew my Sai and cut the lock off.

"Good thing there was no alarm attached to that." Chris joked and I giggled. Then I opened up the trunk and found two canned peaches a few books.

Just then, Alvin came into the building. "Man… and I thought WE had it bad. Look at this dump…" He said as he looked the place over. He then saw the can of peaches in Clem's hand. "Guess he did have food."

"Man, fuck Nick… He's lost a lot of his people, that's for sure, but that doesn't give him any excuse to go and shoot strangers." Chris said.

"He was trying to help." Clementine said.

"Yeah, and someone died cause of that. I ain't no judge, but that's straight up murder in my book. I mean, you ever known anyone who would do a thing like that?" Alvin asked. Chris and I looked at Clem to see she had a saddened look on her face.

"Actually, yeah… a woman in our group. Her dad died… and then… she just shot this other woman…" Clem explained. I knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Was she the one who shot this Carley?" I asked and Clem sadly nodded.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Chris said.

"Damn. What did you guys do?" Alvin asked.

"We left her behind." Clem replied.

"Damn…" Chris and Alvin muttered. Chris pulled the other can of peaches out of the trunk, looked at it, then Clem and smirked.

"That's funny. She looks just like you." He said, referring to the girl on the can. I looked at Clem and held back a chuckle. She's not amused.

"Hey, Clem, there's not a lot of food left, and Bec… well, she's eating for two. You think you can keep this between the four of us? I'd hate to even say it, you know but- I'd never go against the group, but I gotta put Bec and the baby first…"

Clem smiled a little. "She can have it. I won't say anything."

"Thanks, Clem." Alvin said before turning to us. "You guys OK with this?"

"I am if you are, Annie." Chris said to me.

"Yeah. She can have it. My lips are sealed." I said. Chris gave me a quick kiss on the lips while Alvin looked out the window. Carlos, Luke, Tess, and Nick were talking about something.

"It's a shame. Nick's a good guy. He's still a good guy, but he's just losing it… God knows we're not perfect… Hell, I'm glad you're with us, Clementine." He said, making Clem smile. Suddenly, Chris saw something and I grew concerned.

"What is it, sweetie?" I asked, earning Alvin and Clementine's attention.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing to the bridge. The three of us came to him and went wide eyed, as did he.

"Shit!" Chris, Alvin, and I said as we ran out the door. "LURKERS!" Chris shouted. "We have to get out of here!" Clem shouted as we all headed up the mountain.

* * *

**Chris's POV**

We finally made it to the ski lodge, but it's dark now. Nick and Carlos were looking around for any signs of life while Bec, Anne, and I were panting as hard. I knelt down, extremely exhausted. My half-sisters came to my side and put my arms around their shoulders to help me to my feet.

"T… Thanks." I managed to say while panting. "Don't mention it." They said at the same time.

"Well? What're we waiting for?" Bec asked, clearly exhausted. "I'm with her on this one, Carlos." I said.

Carlos turned to us and looked at us as we reached our destination. "We need to be careful." He said.

Bec scoffed. "Careful? We've been on the road for five days. My back is done being careful." She retorted.

I managed to catch my breath when I see Anne hunch over, placing her hands on her knees.

"I'm with Bec on this one." She said. "My feet feel like they're gonna fall off at any second now…" She added.

I then had an idea. I crouched down a little and looked at her to see she was confused. I nodded towards my back and she realized what I was doing. She then hopped onto my back and wrapped her arms around my neck while I grabbed her legs.

"Chris…" Emily started before I cut her off. "It's okay, Emmy. I can manage." I said as I slowly straightened out my legs. I then looked to my right shoulder to see Anne's eye was closed, which told me she was asleep. I decided not to wake her.

Alvin stepped onto the deck and examined the boarded up windows. "Doesn't look like anyone's home." He observed as the rest of us stepped onto the deck.

"Can't be too careful, big guy." I said, earning a nod from him. He then noticed a passed out Anne on my back.

"She asleep?" He asked. "Yeah, she is." I replied and he nodded in understanding and walked over to Bec to help her.

I looked to see Tess attempting to pry off a board, to no avail. "Damn, this is STUR-DAY!" She muttered. I then walked over to her and stopped when I reached her side. "Whoever nailed these down did a damn good job." I muttered.

"I'll go check around front." Alvin said.

"I'll go with you." Carlos said as the two men headed towards the front. I hoisted Anne back up to keep her from slipping. Nick saw this and walked over to me.

"How about we trade? I'll take her and you can take my rifle." He offered. I looked thoughtful for a moment, and nodded my head. I turned around and allowed him to pick her up. I then picked up his rifle and glared at him.

"Drop her, and I swear, you'll never hear the end of it. Both from me, and from her." I warned, and he nodded his head in understanding. He then carried her over to Bec and Emily while walked to Clem and Luke, who were observing the ski lift.

"… Could probably get a better view up top. You feel like taking a look?" He asked her. I looked at the top of the lift. I then looked to see Anne walking over to us.

"It'd be just like climbing a treehouse, Clem." I said to her.

"You know, just a really tall treehouse. Made of steel." Anne said.

"What am I, a monkey?" Clem asked.

"... You said it. Not us." Luke said, and I stifled a snicker.

Clem then started climbing the lift. Anne then took my hand and Luke smirked. "One word out of you, Luke, and you'll need a new set of teeth. Clear?" I asked. "Crystal." Luke replied, albeit with slight fear.

"Don't fucking move!" I heard someone shout. Anne and I ran back to the deck to find a few people with Tess, one holding a rifle.

"Hey, back off, pal!" I said.

Carlos and Alvin came running around the corner as a man with a beard shove Tess to the ground. I was furious when I saw that and ran to her.

"You okay, sis?" I asked and she nodded her head. Jennifer stood in front Rebecca.

"This is our house! Get the hell out!" The bearded man said.

"Fuck that!" I said as I pointed my rifle at him. "And don't push my half-sister again unless you wanna lose a fucking kneecap!" I added, this time, with venom in my words. "Besides, we've been walking for five days! Give us a fucking break!" I said as he pointed his rifle at me.

"Are you thieves?!" Another asked. This one sounded like a teenager. "I swear we're not here for that!" Anne exclaimed. Luke came running up to us.

"What's going on here?!" He asked as he held his hands up in surrender.

"There's more of you?!" Beardy growled.

"Listen everyone, just calm down!" Luke said.

"Fuck that, Luke!" I snarled before turning my attention to the asshole who had his rifle drawn on me. "Tell us who you are, or else I've just found me something for target practice." I said as a woman came outside.

"Who are you?! Are you trying to rob us?!" She asked. Judging by her accent, I'm assuming she's Indian.

"Excuse me, honey, but do I look like a fucking thief?" Bec snapped.

Tess threw her hands up in surrender. "Look, this is all just a misunderstanding!" She exclaimed.

I saw Anne glare at the people. "We're not robbing anybody! God, how many fucking times to I have to say it?!" She asked, and I sensed frustration in her voice.

"Everyone calm down!" A guy with a red sweater said.

"Tell your asshole of a friend here to lower his gun and I MIGHT calm down a little." I barked, but Beardy refused. "FUCK THAT!" He said.

"Hey, man, calm the fuck down!" Alvin shot back to sweater guy. "Save your breath, Alvin." I hissed, now pointing the gun at another teenager. "Anybody moves, and Buzzcut over there gets a bullet in his skull. I kid you not." I ordered as the other teenager steps in front of him. "Kill my brother, you kill me." He said. "Don't fucking tempt me." I retorted.

"Sarah, get behind me!" Carlos said as Sarah did as she was told. Emily stepped forward a little. "We thought this place was abandoned! We'll leave right now!" She said.

"Just tell us who you are!" Sweater-dude said. "FUCK YOU, DOUCHEBAG!" I shot back. Tess put her hand on my shoulder. "Tess, don't touch me right now. I don't wanna hurt you." I told her and felt her hand leave my shoulder.

"Please… Just DO what he says!" The Indian woman pleaded. "SHUT UP, BITCH!" I shouted. I looked at beard-man and saw he was furious. "Don't talk to her like that!" He ordered.

Suddenly, we heard a gasp behind us and I turned to see Clementine weaving her way through us. She looked straight at the guy who had his gun aimed at me. He looked at her and looked completely shocked.

"Holy shit." She said.

"Wait one fucking minute! You KNOW this guy, Clem?!" I asked her. I looked at the man who drew on me and assumed he was Kenny. He kept looking at Clem in shock.

"Clementine…?" He asked.

Suddenly, Clem leapt forward and hugged him and he hugged her right back.

"I'll take that as a yes." Anne said.

Kenny then looked to us. "These people with you?" He asked and she nodded.

I walked up to them. "Somebody wanna tell us what the fuck is going on?!" I asked as I looked at the two teens and rose an eyebrow. I followed their gaze to Anne, then look back at them to see their wide eyed faces.

"Is that…"

"N-no… It can't be…"

"Uh, you guys know my girlfriend or something?" I demanded. "Yeah, what are you two talking about?!" She asked.

"Anne?" The one who stood in front of his brother asked.

"Am I supposed to know you?" She asked.

Buzzcut stepped closer to her when I stepped in between them. "Close enough, bub." I warned, pointing the rifle at his chest. He looked past me and at Anne. "Anne, come on… It's us, remember?" He asked her. "Back. The. Fuck. OFF!" I demanded, pushing him back with the barrel of the rifle.

"D-Dylan?! Chase?!" She exclaimed as she leapt past me and hugged the two brothers. "Wait a minute! You know these people, baby?" I asked as soon as she pulled away from them. "Yeah. This is Chase and Dylan Enheart. I met them four years ago." She replied as I lowered the gun.

"Man, it's so good to see you again." The one with the buzz cut, who I presumed was Dylan, said as he hugged her. I was getting jealous and walked over to them. "Okay, that's enough of that." I snapped as I pulled him off of her.

"Sorry. It's just… I can't believe it's her." He said as the older guy, who I assumed was Chase, walked up to us.

"We can talk inside." Kenny said. Anne and I walked with Dylan and Chase when I had a look of extreme guilt. "Sorry for threatening to kill your brother, Chase." I said to him, and he smiled. "Just don't do it again, and we won't have any problems." He said. He extended his hand and I shook it.

"So, how do you know Anne?" Dylan asked me.

"He's my boyfriend. This is Chris Carver. These are his half-sisters, Tess and Emily." Anne said, introducing me and my sisters. Chase and Dylan nodded their heads to us. We all then walked inside. I whistled. "Nice place you people have here." I said. "Thanks." Chase said as he looked at Jennifer and smirked.

"I'm Chase." He introduced himself.

"I'm Jennifer Hudson, not the actress." She introduced herself when I saw her blush at Chase's smirk. I then saw Dylan smirking at Rebecca and nudged her to him.

"Hi." She said sheepishly. "Hi. I'm Dylan." He said. "I'm Rebecca Townley." She said and I smirked. _"Mission accomplished."_ I thought to myself.

**That's chapter ten. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Old Wounds**

**Chris's POV**

I was looking at Anne while she was talking to Chase, Dylan, and everyone else when my half-sisters came to my side.

"What's bothering our loving half-brother so much right now?" Tess asked.

"I'm not jealous, if that's what you're thinking, girls. Anne deserves to see her old friends." I quickly defended. Emily nodded her head, but Tess frowned.

"I know when you're bullshitting me, Chris. What's really bothering you?" She asked and I sighed.

"You really have to ask?" I asked, choking up. They both put their hands on my shoulders and sat down with me.

"We miss her, too, Chris. But you have us, Anne, and everyone else. Don't blame yourself for what Carver did." Emily told me, but I was still upset. I saw a piano on the other side of the others and decided to let my feelings out as I walked towards the piano.

**Anne's POV**

"Jesus Christ. His dad didn't even try to save her?" Kenny asked me and I shook my head. "No, I tried to reach Coleen, but that asshole wouldn't let me. He grabbed my arm and dragged me away." I replied. Everyone had sad looks until we heard a piano being played. We all turned to see Chris playing a piano not far from us.

_I'm so tired of being here_

_Suppressed by all my childish fears_

_And if you have to leave_

_I wish that you would just leave_

_'Cause your presence still lingers here_

_And it won't leave me alone_

_These wounds won't seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away your tears_

_When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have_

_All of me_

_You used to captivate me_

_By your resonating light_

_Now I'm bound by the life you left behind_

_Your face, it haunts_

_My once pleasant dreams_

_Your voice, it chased away_

_All the sanity in me_

_These wounds won't seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have_

_All of me_

_I've tried so hard to tell myself_

_That you're gone_

_But though you're still with me_

_I've been alone all along_

_…_

As I kept looking at him, I covered my mouth as I was growing sad._ "How much pain are you bearing, my love?" _I thought to myself before he sang again.

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have_

_All of me__, me, me_

As soon as he finished singing, I felt a tear run down my face and saw everyone look at him with sympathy, but his half-sisters burst into tears. Jennifer and Chase walked over to them while the rest of us walked over to my boyfriend.

"Hey, man. Anne told us about what happened to your stepmom. We're all extremely sorry." Dylan said to him before he looked him square in the eye.

"I WASN'T SINGING THAT SONG BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU IDIOT! I'VE SUFFERED MORE THAN JUST THAT LOSS!" He yelled, and my hunch was confirmed.

"Baby, please. Tell us what else is bothering you. Tell me." I said with a pleading eye.

"You guys wanna know why I wear these sunglasses?" He calmly asked as Chase and Jennifer came over with his half-sisters.

"They hide SO MUCH!" He said as he shoved everything off of the table he was standing next to. "I wear them because of-" He started before ripping his sunglasses off of his face to reveal his blood red eyes. "-THIS!" He finished, making everyone but our group look at him. "You guys have absolutely NO FUCKING CLUE how bad it was for me. Every day when I went to school… these kids would… attack me! Whenever they had the chance, they'd pick on me! Beat me up, spit on me, call me names…"

We all remained silent as Chris began to yell louder.

"Every. Single. Day, the kids would… I had to put up with that my entire life! Every day when Tess, Emmy, and I got home, we would tell our parents. Coleen believed us. Carver did not. He always thought I was overreacting. He didn't know these kids, I DID! That piece of shit was wrong in every fucking way possible!"

Chris stopped to punch the wall in anger.

"I tried covering them up with a bandana, like Anne's, hoping it would stop, but it didn't. It only made things worse. They started spreading rumors that I was blind. Blind, of all things! It got so out of hand one day… I had to go to the hospital because of those assholes! They beat me up in public, to a bloody pulp! I would've died, had the paramedics not gotten to me in time. I was stuck on my ass in a fucking hospital bed for three goddamn months… That's when I started wearing my sunglasses…"

I looked at Chris with horror. How could anyone put the man I love through that much abuse?

"Sometimes, when I think about my past, I just… just wanna…"

I knew he was reaching his peak, so I opened up my arms and he fell into them and started sobbing very hard into my chest. We both dropped to our knees and I was fighting back tears myself.

"Jesus Christ." I heard Chase say.

I started rubbing Chris's back as he kept sobbing into my chest. "It's OK. Let it out, honey." I said. He only cried harder in my chest.

"Damn…" Kenny muttered.

"I know how bad it hurts, baby." I said to him, causing him to look at me.

"You do?" He asked me.

I nodded my head as I took my bandana off and pushed my bangs away from my face, revealing my blood red eye I kept hidden for three years. "My story is the exact same as yours, Chris. Down to the last detail." I said as I turned to show everyone my eyes.

"Then you understand the pain our half-brother went through." Emily said to me and I nodded my head.

I then turned my attention back to Chris, who resumed sobbing. "Shh, shh. I'm here, baby. And here's where I'll stay. By your side. No matter what. I promise." I said and he looked at me and smiled.

"Thank you so much, Annie." He said.

"You're welcome. I love you." I said.

"I love you too." He said as we wrapped our arms around each other tightly.

"We're all here for you, bro. All of us in this room." Tess said, looking to the others for support.

"Absolutely." Clem said as everyone joined in the hug.

"Thank you all so much. You have no idea how good this makes me feel." Chris said as we all got to our feet. I then had an idea.

"Wanna hear me sing a song, baby?" I asked and he nodded his head.

"I've always loved your singing, Annie. So yes, I'd love to hear a song from you." He said. We all then walked over to the couches and I grabbed my guitar and sat down next to Chris. I hummed the tune as I started strumming my guitar.

_Tonight I'm so alone_

_This sorrow takes a hold_

_Don't leave me here so cold_

_(Never want to be so cold)_

_Your touch used to be so kind_

_Your touch used to give me life_

_I've waited all this time,_

_I've wasted so much time_

_Don't leave me alone_

_Cause I barely see at all_

_Don't leave me alone, I'm_

_Falling in the black_

_Slipping through the cracks_

_Falling to the depths can I ever go back_

_Dreaming of the way it used to be_

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling in the black_

_Slipping through the cracks_

_Falling to the depths can I ever go back_

_Falling inside the black_

_Falling inside, falling inside the black_

_You were my source of strength_

_I've traded everything_

_That I love for this one thing_

_(Stranded in the offering)_

_Don't leave me here like this_

_Can't hear me scream from the abyss_

_And now I wish for you my desire_

_Don't leave me alone_

_Cause I barely see at all_

_Don't leave me alone, I'm_

_Falling in the black_

_Slipping through the cracks_

_Falling to the depths can I ever go back_

_Dreaming of the way it used to be_

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling in the black_

_Slipping through the cracks_

_Falling to the depths can I ever go back_

_Falling inside the black_

_Falling inside, falling inside the black, black, black, black_

_(Falling in the black.)_

_(Slipping through the cracks.)_

_Falling in the black_

_Slipping through the cracks_

_Falling to the depths can I ever go back_

_Dreaming of the way it used to be_

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling in the black_

_Slipping through the cracks_

_Falling to the depths can I ever go back_

_Falling inside the black_

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling inside the black_

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling inside the black_

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling inside_

_Falling inside, falling inside_

_The black_

As soon as I finished singing, everyone started clapping. I stood up and bowed like I was at a performance. Chris chuckled at my little joke. As soon as I stood up straight, he pulled me in for a kiss. I smiled and started returning it. We kept it up until: "Get a room, you two." Tess told us.

**That's chapter eleven. I want to thank AquaDestinysEmbrace for recommending Falling Inside The Black. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Familiar Face**

**Chris's POV**

I saw Clem and Nick standing by the door, looking at Walter, and decided to investigate. I looked to Anne, Chase, and Dylan and decided to speak.

"Guys, I think something's bothering Walter." I said, causing the three of them to look at him.

"Let's go find out." Anne suggested earning nods from the three of us. Anne took my hand as we walked down towards them. We made it to the door and stepped outside. I looked at Walter to see his back was turned to us. I then saw the survival knife Clem found in the station by the bridge.

"Hey Walter, are you alright?" Dylan asked, but Walter did not answer.

"Clem, what happened?" Anne asked, but just before she could answer, we noticed the wind turbine was picking up speed.

Luke, Kenny, Tess, Sarita, and Carlos came running out.

"Walt, what's going on?" Kenny asked, but Walter still didn't answer. I pointed to the wind turbine and told him it was picking up speed. "This storm's got it spinning out of control!" He said. "That sound's gonna attract walkers!" He added.

"We've got to shut it down now!" I said, earning a nod in agreement from the bearded man.

"Nick, help me carry the guns!" Carlos ordered as he and Nick rushed back inside.

A moment later, they came back with guns. Nick handed Clem, Tess, and Anne Glock 17s while Chase and I took Colt M1911s from Carlos.

"That thing's a damn dinner bell!" Kenny growled as he grabbed a rifle and rushed towards the wind turbine. We quickly followed after him.

Suddenly, there was a large boom in the distance. "What the hell was that?" I asked. We all then turned to see the lights at the ski lodge went out.

"Dammit! Transformer must've gone!" Kenny said. "Gotta check it! I could use a hand!"

"I'll go with you." Luke said.

"I'm going with you." Sarita said as she stepped up.

Kenny shook his head. "No. It's too dangerous. Rest of you, get this thing offline!" He ordered before he and Luke took off. Sarita opened the door and we all gathered around the panel, but we could barely see a thing.

"Does anyone know how to do this?" Carlos asked. Sarita shrugged.

"Nope. Sorry." Dylan said with a shrug.

Anne sighed. "Great…"

"I can do it." Clem said.

"Okay, we'll watch your back." I said with a nod.

"Nick, Chase, scan the trees with me." Carlos ordered as he, Nick, and Chase stepped away to observe the trees. Clementine stepped up to the turbine and pulled out a lighter and it as a light, illuminating the panel. She took a key off a hook and placed the key in a red button and pushed it forward.

We then looked up and saw that the turbine had slowed down, and eventually, stopped completely. Anne and I grinned.

"Nice one, Clem!" We praised. Our grins fell as we observed the area around us.

"Somethin' ain't right." Nick said softly.

"Yeah…" Tess agreed.

"It's quiet." Anne muttered.

"Too quiet." I said.

My ears then picked up snarls. I whirled around to see lurkers, or "walkers" as Kenny and Clem called them, staggering out of the bushes not fifty feet from us.

_"Aw crap."_ I thought.

I gripped my gun tightly as I held it out in front of me.

"We don't have much ammo for this…" Tess pointed out.

"We gotta get back to the lodge." Nick said. Dylan turned around and gasped. "They're behind us!" He exclaimed as he pulled out his gun. "Shit! We're boxed in!" I shouted as I cocked my gun. We all then began shooting at the walkers coming near us.

Anne shot one walker in the head before shooting the next one, hitting it straight in the forehead as dark blood spurted out of the bullet hole. I heard Clementine gasp as she quickly shot a walker in the head before quickly ducking behind a rock.

"CHRIS, LOOK OUT!" I heard Tess shout. I turned around and saw a walker less than six feet in front of me. "SHIT!" I yelled as a gunshot rang out and the walker collapsed. I looked to see that Chase had shot it.

"I owe you one, Chase!" I acknowledged and he nodded his head. Anne and I then turned on a heel and split up. We started running towards the lodge when we both stopped to see Clementine hiding behind a boulder shooting at walkers. She managed to get a few, but then her gun clicked.

"CARLOS, CLEM'S OUT!" I shouted to the Hispanic man just as three walkers were closing in on Clem. Anne took out one, while Carlos and I took out the other two.

"RUN, CLEM!" Anne shouted. A walker almost got Carlos, but he threw it off him, shooting it in the head.

"Keep moving! Get to the lodge!" He exclaimed as we made a run for it.

Adrenaline pumped through my legs as I dashed to the lodge. I turned around and shot at a few walkers, backing away in the process. Suddenly, I heard a 'click'.

"DAMMIT! I'M OUT!" I shouted as I pulled out my machete and sliced through the walker.

I then tripped and fell on my back. I quickly sat up and started scooting away from the walker, but it kept getting closer. "SHIT!" I shouted.

The walker snarled, baring its teeth as it reached towards me, ready to sink its teeth into my flesh.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out through the air. The walker ceased moving and collapsed at my feet. I scooted further away from it, gasping for breath. "Jesus Christ!" I said.

I looked up to see Emily held a rifle in her hand and she started running to me. She held out her hand and hoisted me to my feet. "Thanks, sis." I praised.

"You got it." She acknowledged.

We then made a mad dash towards the lodge as Carlos suddenly exclaimed "EVERYONE, GET INSIDE!"

I looked to my right and saw walkers stumbling towards us. Carlos and Walter fired at a walker. Chase, Tess, and Dylan joined in.

Suddenly, we heard rapid fire and the walkers collapsed one by one.

We turned to the forest to see a man with a brown coat walking out of it. I gritted my teeth in extreme hatred. Carver has found us.

There were three people following him carrying AK-47s. Carver had that stupid smirk of his on his face as he walked up to us. I looked at my half-sisters to see they were as furious as I was.

"Howdy, folks." He casually greeted. His men surrounded us and held us at gunpoint. I recognized two of them as Troy and Johnny, two of the guards from the community. The third looked familiar to me… red hair… brown vest… wait a minute…

"BONNIE?!" Tess, Emily, Anne, and I exclaimed simultaneously.

Bonnie gave us a look of sadness before looking away. Carver stepped up to Carlos, with that stupid smirk still on his face.

"Where's Rebecca?" He calmly asked. Carlos just spat in his face as a response. Nice one, Carlos…

Carver just wiped the spit away. "It's nice to see you, too." Carver said sarcastically before punching Carlos in the face.

"CARLOS!" Tess gasped as Carlos staggered from the blow. All of a sudden, Sarah came rushing outside. She darted past Carver and hugged Carlos tightly.

"Sarah, get behind us." Anne said, glaring at Carver. Sarah hid behind Carlos as Carver pointed at the lodge.

"Inside." He ordered. Carver's other two henchmen pointed their assault rifles at us, forcing us towards and into the lodge. Bonnie gave an impressed whistle as she glanced around.

"Look at this place…"

I was then forced down on my knees and was placed between Anne and my half-sisters as our wrists were bound behind our backs.

"Johnny, cover that window." Bonnie told Johnny as he walked over to the window near the fireplace. I turned to Tess.

"Where's Clementine?" I whispered.

"I don't know." She whispered back.

Carver then walked over to me and my half-sisters. We all glared at him intensely. He bent down and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I've finally found you, my boy. Now we can finally-" He started before I bit his hand. He jerked it back quickly.

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME OR MY HALF-SISTERS!" I roared. He ignored me and turned to Anne with that same stupid smirk, placing his hands on his hips.

"Well, if it isn't the little music girl…"

She let an animal-like growl escape her throat. "Go to hell, you fucking bastard…" She snarled.

My eyes widened as I silently told her to 'be quiet', but she ignored me.

Carver stepped away from us and looked around the lodge for a moment before he picked Carlos up and punched him in the stomach.

"DAD!" Sarah exclaimed as her father fell to the ground. Carver stared down at him.

"Listen. I'm only gonna ask you once. Where's Rebecca?" Carver asked.

Carlos, groaning, got up to his knees and looked at Sarah. "Sarah, look at me." He said gently. Sarah, though slightly panicked, did. "It's gonna be okay."

Right after he said that, Carver took his hand and bent one of his fingers back, breaking it. I looked at Anne to see her cringe at the sound.

Carlos let out a groan of pain as Carver threw his hand down. Carlos cradled it as Carver glanced around the lodge.

"Rebecca! Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety! I know you're out there. And Alvin. And Luke. And the girls. This is real simple. You want this over quick, you all play nice and show your faces."

"Don't hurt my dad! Please!" Sarah cried.

Carver then broke another one of Carlos's fingers, making him scream in pain.

"DAD!" Sarah screamed.

"Sarah, don't look! J-Just don't look!" Anne said, trying to calm her down.

"Fuck you." Carlos growled at Carver. "Shoot him! Somebody shoot him!"

Carver grabbed him by the hair and held a knife to his throat.

"Say goodbye, Carlos." Carver said with a smirk. He then looked up. "You never did listen. Let's see if I can get your attention…"

I was past my breaking point.

"You take joy in this shit, Bill?! DO YOU?!" I bellowed, causing him to look at me.

"It's 'Dad' to you." He sternly told me. I scoffed.

"YOU WERE NEVER MY FATHER!" I roared, scaring everyone, except him. "You sat on the sidelines for 15 years while I was beaten senseless. Yet you act like it never happened. Tess, Emily, and Coleen were the only ones there for me! YOU WEREN'T! Because of what happened to me, I ended up in the ER! You always thought I was overreacting!" I screamed.

"And you're still overreacting." He said.

"I. AM. NOT! I HATE YOU!" I yelled.

"Take that back right now, young man." He ordered, but I shook my head.

"You disappoint me." He said.

"Feeling's mutual." I shot back. "YOU'RE DEAD TO ME!" I shouted, making everyone look at me in shock.

Troy came to push me back down, but I jerked away from him. "Keep your hands off me." I said with venom in my voice. I then got back down on my knees as Bec and the others showed themselves. Carver smiled and threw Carlos to the ground. "Ah, there you are…"

As she and Alvin walked down the stairs, Carver caressed Bec's cheek. I wanted to gag at the sight. That lousy, miserable piece of…

"You alright?"

"Fuck you, Bill!" Bec spat out as Alvin was forced to his knees.

"Tess…" I whispered.

She turned to me. "Yeah?" She asked.

"My Sai. Can you reach it?"

She looked at my bound hands and saw the dagger. "I'll try…" She said as she tried to reach for it. But, Troy turned around at that moment, so she pulled her hands back.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out and Johnny fell to the ground with a bullet hole in his head.

"Kenny!" Sarita gasped.

Carver frowned before marching over to Walter and picking him up. He brought him up to the window and shoved him to the ground before shooting him in the head execution style.

Anne gasped. "NO! WALTER! GOD DAMN IT! NO!"

Chase growled. "YOU SON OF A BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU!" He roared.

Carver hid behind a pillar as he held his pistol. "That's for our man! Now I didn't wanna do this, but you're leavin' me no other choice! So here's what's gonna happen; I'm gonna march another one of your friends out here and put a bullet in the back of their head. Or you can give up now. Your choice." He said. Kenny responded by firing at him, but hit the pillar. Carver then picked up Alvin and smiled. "Hi, Alvin."

"Bill, no!" Bec exclaimed as she rushed forward, but was stopped by Troy pointing his assault rifle at her. "Tell them to stop! Kenny, stop!"

"Remember George?" Carver asked as he held the pistol to Alvin's head.

Anne jumped up and rushed towards them. Carver saw and hit her in the chest with the pistol, knocking the wind out of her. I tried to get to my feet, but Troy stopped me and forced me back to my knees.

"One of these days, I'm gonna kill you, you sumbitch." I said to Troy, while he just laughed.

"I'd like to see you try." He retorted.

Anne coughed and fell to her knees. "F-Fuck…" She groaned out as she coughed. Carver then threw Alvin down and picked her up. I had a feeling of horror.

"Not a smart move, Anne…" He chuckled as he carried her over to the window and held the gun to her temple.

"NO! NOT HER!" Tess screamed.

"GODDAMN IT, KENNY, LUKE! STOP!" I screamed, hoping they would hear me.

Moments later, Kenny, Clem, and Emily walked into the doors holding their hands up in surrender.

Carver went wide eyed as he saw Emily was amongst us. "Why, Emmy?" He asked, but she scowled at him.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT EVER AGAIN, MURDERER!" She snarled, surprising him, me, and Tess. Anne was brought back over to us by Troy.

"Honey, are you okay?" I asked her.

She panted slightly. "That… was WAY too close…"

Carver looked at the two of us and smirked. "Well, well, well. Look who finally got together." He said, chuckling a little as he did.

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH, ASSHOLE!" I shouted.

"Where's Luke?" He asked. "Finally cut and run, huh? Why am I not surprised?" Carver asked before looking at Carlos. "I warned ya not to follow him, and look where he's led you."

He then turned to Bec. "But you're safe now. We're going home. As a family."

I snarled at that comment. THIS is his idea of a family?!

"Alright, round 'em up. We're heading back to camp."

One by one, they started picking us up and led us outside. On the way, I cast Bonnie a glare of intense hatred, and she looked away.

_"Yeah, you better look away, you traitor!"_ I thought to myself. Troy walked to my side and glared at me. I responded by spitting in his eye. Carver saw this and stopped Troy before he could land a blow to me. Then, I saw a large truck at the bottom of the hill. We were led to the back. Troy opened the door and pointed his assault rifle at us.

Reluctantly, we climbed inside. I looked over my shoulder, seeing Carver smiling at his victory.

"We're on our way."

Then the door closed, leaving us in pitch black darkness.

**That's chapter twelve. Review and I'll post more chapters**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Welcome 'Home'**

**Anne's POV**

We all sat in silence as the truck drove down the trail. It hit a bump in the road every once in a while, making us bounce slightly.

"If we get out of this prison again, the first thing I'm gonna do is kill that piece of shit I called a father, I swear to God." Chris said harshly.

"Honey, please don't." I pleaded.

"I've made my decision." He said.

"But…" I started until:

"End of discussion." He sternly said. I looked away, trying not to cry. I sniffled and he realized his mistake. "I'm sorry, baby. I don't know what got into me." He said, and I felt better.

After that, the vehicle jerked to a halt. Then the door opened a few moments later, blinding us all.

"I hate being in the spotlight, thank you." Chris snapped.

"Shut your trap, boy." Troy said.

"Don't think just because my hands are bound that I can't kick your little stupid ass, Troy." Chris shot back. He never was afraid of Troy.

"Enough! Those who gotta piss better go and do it now." Carver said as Clementine, Sarah, and I climbed out of the truck. I glared at Troy as Sarah headed into the woods.

"Hey, you mind givin' us girls some privacy?" I asked, glaring at him. He just glared right back at me and used his rifle to shove me into the woods.

"Just get going. We ain't got all day, girlies." He replied. Talk about rude!

I stood next to Clementine, who was looking at a tree. I could see she was staring at a butterfly. I remained silent as I watched her. _"Man, I haven't seen anything like that in a while…"_ I thought to myself.

Clementine reached out to touch it, but it flew away. I decided to speak up.

"So, you don't have to go?"

She shook her head. "No. You?"

I smirked slightly. "No. I was just getting tired of sitting in there." I replied.

She smiled slightly. My smirk then turned to a frown as I remembered my boyfriend's stern words. I was starting to fight back tears. Clementine noticed this.

"Is he known to do things like that?" She asked me.

I shook my head. "No. Normally, it takes a lot to set him off. But recently…" I said, trailing off and sniffling.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to talk to you like that, Anne." Sarah said to me, making me smile. "Thanks, Sarah."

"No problem. And thank you guys for coming with me. It's scary out here." She thanked us. "I know they made you come with me but… I thought they were actually gonna make Dad come with me. Thanks." She said.

Clementine smiled at her and said "Yeah. We're friends. Friends always stick together."

I smiled at that. Then of course, Troy just HAD to ruin the moment.

"You about done over there?!"

I turned to glare at him. "Yeah, we are. Just give us a fucking minute." I snapped.

The three of us then walked back to the truck.

"Everything come out alright, girls?" Troy asked us.

I glared at him for that. _"Oh, you did NOT just ask that."_ I thought, still glaring at Troy.

I stomped on his foot. "Pervert!" I mumbled. Bonnie and Troy then started tying our wrists back up. Carver then pulled out a radio and pushed a button.

"Well, we're on our way, probably about thirty minutes out. Make sure everyone's prepped. Emotions might be running high. Carver out." He said as Troy roughly grabbed my wrists and started binding them. "If I find out you've been wasting fuel to keep that fucking heater going, I'll make you walk back." Carver said to Troy.

"Nope. Froze my ass off. Just like you told me to." Troy said.

Carver noticed Clementine staring at him and frowned. "It ain't polite to listen to other folks' conversations. Didn't anyone ever tell you that? Where are your manners?"

"I used to have a walkie talkie like that." Clementine brought up.

"Oh, really? What happened to it? Cause you can't have this one."

"None of your business."

Carver walked over to her and slapped her across the face.

"Leave her alone!" I said.

"You don't wanna test me, girl. I'll pass every time."

"Stop!" Sarah said. Carver glared at her, and she hung her head.

"Get the girls in back with the rest of them. We've got a bit of a drive ahead of us." Carver said.

Troy opened the door and pointed a gun at us.

"In."

Reluctantly, we climbed back in with the others.

"Are you guys OK?" Sarita asked as we sat down. I sat between my boyfriend and Tess as Clementine sat next to Carlos and Sarah.

Kenny noticed the sad expression Clementine had. "The hell did he do to you?" He asked with concern. "Hey! Did he hurt you?!"

He then turned to Troy. "Hey! HEY!"

Troy slammed the door shut, leaving us in darkness once again.

My eye had readjusted to the darkness as the truck started moving again. We all remained silent as we exchanged glances at each other every once in a while. I rested my head on my boyfriend's shoulder and he rested his head on me. I then closed my eye in sadness, remembering what happened to Walter. Tess was looking down at her feet, probably thinking about what happened back at the lodge.

Finally, Kenny decided to speak. "Alright, we gotta do something. Anyone got anything sharp? Anything?"

We all remained silent. Kenny turned to us. "What about you two? You have those salad tongs, right?"

Chris sighed with annoyance. "They're Sais, and we don't have them on us." He explained. "They took our weapons, remember?" I reminded him.

"We need to get these bindings off! Hey! Clem, help me find something to get these off. Anything sharp that could cut these..." Kenny requested.

"And what good is that gonna do?" Bec asked.

"I'm with her on this one." Emily agreed.

Kenny's gaze snapped to the two of them. "What the hell's wrong with you people? We gotta get outta here!"

"Why bother?" Clementine asked.

"What?!" He exclaimed.

"I just don't see how it's gonna help."

"We're in a fuckin' precarious position here! We gotta do something about it!"

"Settle down, Kenny. They took everything. We have to keep a level head." Carlos calmly said.

"He's right. You don't know Bill like we do." Bec agreed.

"Bill? This whole time it's Carver, Carver, Carver, now he's fucking Bill?" Kenny asked. Bec closed her eyes.

"Oh, I see what this is. Y'all are just getting a ride home, aren't ya? That's what this is." Kenny snapped.

"Don't ever call it that again." Chris barked, making Kenny look at him in anger.

"I'd stay out of this, boy." Kenny warned.

"Newsflash: I ain't a boy." Chris snarled.

Kenny rolled his eyes. "Oh right… YOU'RE a man."

Tess looked up. "Both of you knock it off! Arguing isn't gonna help any!" She snapped.

"You don't understand. He's different… he's worse." Bec said.

"The fuck are you talkin' about?" Kenny asked.

"He wants to punish us."

Clementine chimed in. "What d'you mean worse?"

Kenny nodded. "He's a fucking psychopath now!" He agreed. Carlos glared at him. "You have NO IDEA what you're dealing with!" He snapped.

"Oh, he gave us a pretty good goddamn idea back at the lodge." Chase spoke up. "I don't intend to sit around and let that happen to the rest of us!" Kenny agreed. "I'm tryin' to help!"

"I'm sure Walter really appreciated your help." Carlos retorted. Kenny looked down sadly at the mention of his dead friend's name. What happened next surprised me. Chris let an animal-like growl escape him.

"That's not fair! You're blaming him for the actions of a madman!" Sarita defended. Chris stomped his foot to gain everyone's attention. "Sarita's right, Carlos. Kenny sure as hell ain't the one to blame, okay? That snarling piece of shit I called 'Dad' is to blame, clear?" He said.

"I am pointing out, that regardless of intent, there are consequences to rash actions. Something that he seems to be misreading as capitulation." Carlos pointed out.

"Bull-fucking-shit, Carlos! He did what he judged to be right! Need I remind you what almost happened to Anne?!" Chris furiously snarled, earning a glare from the Hispanic man.

"We've got to do something!" Kenny insisted.

"Kenny…" Sarita said.

"You can't reason with him." Bec sighed.

Tess scoffed. "Who can these days?" She snapped.

"Thank you, Tess." Chris praised. Clearly she voiced his thoughts.

Kenny's eyes wandered over to something. "Oh shit. Jackpot!" He exclaimed.

I looked to my right and saw that he was looking at a sharp, jagged part of a broken pipe next to Clementine. He stood up, walked over to it, and started using it to cut the bindings.

"Sit down! You're going to get us all killed!" Carlos warned but Kenny ignored him. "Y'all don't know what you're talking about. We get cooped up in some kennel like a buncha fuckin' dogs, it's over."

"You don't know that." Bec said

"Oh yeah?" Kenny asked. "well, I've been in this situation before. You ever been a prisoner?"

"We've all been prisoners! Why do you think we've left?" Carlos asked.

"Stop fighting! Please…" Clementine piped up.

Kenny then cut the ropes off. He smiled. "Alright, now we're talkin'!"

He stood up. Carlos frowned and said "Carver will be on the other side of that door with ten people."

"Both of you shut up, okay? You're scaring Sarah." Chris pointed out as Sarah started whimpering.

"There, there, baby… it's okay. Everything's gonna be fine." Bec soothingly said.

"It'll be okay, don't worry." I told Sarah.

Carlos then sighed. "At this point, maybe Luke is the only hope we have."

"If he was gonna do something, he would have done it by now." Kenny argued.

"Who knows what he's dealing with. Anything can happen out there." Bec pointed out.

"I'll tell you what happened: he abandoned us."

"Like hell. Okay, I've known Luke for a long time, and I know he ain't that kind of person." Chris snapped. "Well, I know he ain't here." Kenny shot back.

"Luke is not that type of guy!" Tess defended. "That guy is a flake. I could tell the second I set eyes on him." Kenny growled.

"You don't fucking know Luke like we do!" Chris snarled as he stood up.

"Boys, please calm down. Please…" Sarita calmly told them.

Chris sighed and sat back down and I rested my head on his shoulder again.

"Luke would never abandon us!" I exclaimed.

"Luke will help us." Clementine said as she looked up at Kenny. The bearded man frowned. "Oh yeah? When? After that crazy fuck's killed us all?!"

Clementine looked slightly surprised. Kenny had an apologetic look. "Hey look, Clem…" He gently began, but was cut off when the truck suddenly jerked. Carlos and I looked up at the ceiling.

"We're close." Carlos said.

"Okay. Let's do this."

Tess sighed. "Kenny, they have guns." She pointed out.

"She's right. What exactly do you expect to do?" I asked.

"I'm gonna punch the first sonuvabitch I see. Then I'm gonna take his gun and use it to shoot the NEXT sonuvabitch I see." He stated.

Chris scoffed. "Great plan. Just rush in and try shooting your way out. Fucking brilliant plan, Kenny." He said.

"Well, I don't see you comin' up with any bright ideas, Vampire." Kenny snapped, and Tess and Emily went wide eyed when Chris jumped to his feet.

"If you know what's good for you, you damn well won't call me that again." Chris snarled and I knew he was gonna attack, so I decided to intervene.

"Baby, don't do it. Please, for me?" I pleaded as he started to calm down. Eventually, he completely simmered down and sat back down again. I kissed him on the cheek for that.

"Just sit down." Carlos barked.

"Shut up, Doc! This ain't your call!" Kenny barked back.

"Both of you shut up!" Emily snapped.

"She's right. Kenny, your plan's stupid." I said.

"Well, what's your plan Cyclops?" He asked.

I then stood up on my feet. "Call me that again… I DARE YOU!" I said with a growl when I felt Chris pull me back to my knees.

"Annie, don't, okay? He's not worth it." He said. As I sat down on my knees again, I rested my head on my boyfriend's shoulder again.

Kenny then looked down at Clementine. "Hey, if something happens… just help out, okay? Don't, you know, get yourself hurt or nothin', but any help would be good." He paused for a moment before he gently said "Hey, Clem. Look at me. You trust me, right?"

"Kenny! Please, just… Just, listen to them. They know him… what he's capable of." Sarita told him.

Chris looked at her. "Thank you, Sarita."

Clementine nodded. "I'm scared."

"All right, honey." He assured her. He then turned around and faced the door as I heard the truck start backing up. "Alright. Everybody re-"

He suddenly was cut off when the truck jerks to a halt, causing him to slam into the door facefirst before falling down on his back.

Chris and I cringed as he landed on his back. "Ooh… Timber…" Chris said halfheartedly, earning a slight giggle from me.

"KENNY!" Sarita exclaimed as she rushed to his side. "Kenny, are you okay?"

"Is he okay?" Bec asked.

"I think so…" Sarita replied. "Oh… what hit me?" Kenny groaned. I looked at Tess to see she was biting her lip, clearly trying not to snicker. Carlos looked away. "Probably for the best." He muttered, earning a snicker from my boyfriend.

I heard Troy grumbling outside. "Goddamn breaks ain't working for shit!" He growled as he opened the door, blinding us with the sudden light. I squinted, seeing him, Bonnie, and Tavia, another guard, standing there with assault rifles.

"Alright, up and at 'em." Tavia ordered, scowling at my boyfriend.

"Nice to see you again, too, Tavia." He said sarcastically while glaring at her. "Just move your ass." She ordered. We all reluctantly stood up and walked out the door. Troy saw Kenny's unbound wrists and frowned. "The fuck?! How'd you get your restraints off?! C'mere."

We were led away from the truck. I then heard Carver's voice come on the PA system as he started to make a speech.

_"We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight. Now, I understand that some of you are confused as to why we'd bring these people back when they left us as they did."_

Tavia scoffed. "I think I've got an idea."

I heard Chris let an animal-like snarl escape his mouth while I glared at her snide comment.

_"Now, it might not come all out at once… but time will heal these wounds… so be patient with them until it does… and take solace in knowing that they're here to make our home better place."_

I inwardly scoffed. This 'home' feels more like a prison.

We entered a hall that with shelves filled with food. There were some guards on top of them glaring down at us.

Nothing's changed since my boyfriend and I left… nothing's changed at all…

I looked up, seeing Carver's office. I see him at the microphone looking at us as he spoke. Chris glared at him with an intense amount of hatred.

_"All these feelings you have of anger… betrayal… hate… they're all valid. No one needs to forget what they did… but we do have to find it in our hearts to forgive them."_

Clementine's eyes wandered over to the over to the shelves stocked with food. "Look at how much food they have…"

"Oh, I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying…" Kenny muttered.

_"As many of you already know, a large herd of lurkers gathers just south of us…"_

"Come on, we need you for something." Troy said to Carlos. "Can't it wait until morning?" Carlos requested. "We're all exhausted."

"Just come the fuck on." Troy ordered. Reluctantly, Carlos followed him. Sarah's eyes widened. "I need him. I need my dad." She said as she stopped walking. Chris and I stopped as well. "I-I can't… he's… he looks after me."

Troy walked up to us and forced us to keep moving.

"He'll be back." Chris told her.

"When?" She asked.

"We don't know, but he will come back, Sarah." I agreed.

"Thanks, guys…" She said gratefully.

"Why don't you stay by our side until he returns?" Chris offered, and she nodded her head.

We ended up in 'The Yard', where anyone who needs to earn the camp's trust back are put. "Wow. Welcome to hell." I muttered, earning a snicker from Chris.

_"… And with the added manpower joining us this evening, I have no doubt that we will continue to…"_

Bonnie knelt down and unlocked the door leading to the yard. "Make sure y'all stay away from the fence. Bill can see if you're messing around with it." She told us gently. She cast a sad glance at me and Chris, who now felt guilty for his cold treatment towards her.

_"… it's no longer just to survive… it is our obligation to make this community a beacon of hope…"_

I pretended to gag, earning a chuckle from Chris, and a giggle from Sarah.

Bonnie then opened the door up. We all stepped through it and into the yard. Chris cast her an apologetic look, and she grinned.

_"To provide a light… a bright light. Bright enough to shine in all this darkness. So that is what we'll do."_

Troy, Tavia, and Bonnie started taking our restraints off.

"Y'all best get some rest, cause there ain't gonna be much for you tomorrow. You're gonna be working hard." Troy said with a smirk.

_"God, I wanna punch this little prick square in the mouth."_ I thought to myself.

"That's for you…" Bonnie said to Bec as she pointed to over to a cot.

"Yeah, it would be. Fuckin' Bill. Keeps me out in the cold, but at least I'll be comfortable." Bec said sarcastically as she crossed her arms.

We all then heard a cheerful voice. "Hey, guys."

I looked away from the door and gasped. A man with one arm wearing a white fishing vest over a blue shirt was smiling at us. My eye widened. It's…

"REGGIE?!" Tess, Emily, Chris, Bec, and I exclaimed. The five of us hugged him.

"I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry… What did they do to you?" Bec asked as we pulled away.

"This could have been worse, trust me. I'm lucky to be alive." Reggie said. He then turned to Chris and me with a smile.

"How's it going, Raggedy Anne?" He asked me. I crossed my arms, but smiled anyway. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"Too many to count. How about you, Chris Kyle?" He asked my boyfriend.

He matched my movements. "Not bad. Anne and I are together now." He replied, and Reggie smirked.

"About damn time." He said, chuckling. The two of us joined him. Damn, I missed this guy!

"It's my fault…" Nick said, referring to Reggie's arm,

"No, it's really not. I would tell you if this was. This happened well after you guys left." Reggie said.

Tess, Chris, and Emily nodded their heads. "He got bit on the arm, but they chopped it off." Tess explained.

"… They got me working outside. Lurker snuck up on me when I was hammering something. Luckily, they took the arm off quick. Saved my life." Reggie explained. "Yeah, I'm the one who took the arm off." Chris said.

"That's awful… I'm so sorry…" Bec said.

"Look, it was my choice to help you guys." Reggie said.

Just then, Tavia stepped through the door. "Alvin, Carver wants you in his office."

"What? Why?" Alvin inquired. Tavia frowned. "Don't make this difficult. It's too late for that."

"No, please-"

"It's OK, Bec." Alvin told Bec as he gave her a reassuring smile. "Just get some rest. If he wanted to do somethin' to me, he'd had done it already. I'll be fine."

With that, he turned to Tavia. "Let's see what he wants."

Troy then stepped up to Reggie. "Hey! Reggie!" He said.

"Oh… hey, Troy." Reggie said.

"Don't go fucking up now. Bill's real close to letting you outta here. You make sure things stay nice and quiet out here, and I'll be sure to let Bill know just how helpful you were."

Reggie nodded. "Yeah, you can count on me. Thanks, Troy."

"Don't mention it." Troy replied with a frown as he and Bonnie left and pulled the door closed. We were all silent as we turned back to Reggie.

"Oh, right. Let me introduce you. We were with them when we got caught." Bec said.

"That's Sarita…"

Sarita smiled. "Hello."

"And that's Kenny…"

Kenny uncrossed his arms. "Heya."

"And that's Chase and his brother Dylan."

"What's up?" Chase greeted.

"And Jennifer and Rebecca."

"Howdy." Jennifer greeted.

"We call her Bec now to keep from getting confused." I said, referring to Bec.

Reggie then turned to Clementine and smiled. "Hello! Who are you?"

Clementine was silent for a moment. "This freaks you out." Reggie said, referring to his missing arm. "It's OK. Freaks me out too, sometimes. I'm used to it."

"My name's Clementine." Clementine said.

Reggie smiled. "It's very nice to meet you, Clementine." He grinned as he held his hand out for her to shake, which she did. "Hey, where's Carlos?"

"Carver's got him lookin' at some folks right now." I explained.

"Oh… OK. Good. What about Pete and Marie?"

We all stayed silent. Reggie's smile faded and he quickly caught on.

"Can you guys save for the morning?" I heard someone ask. We turned to see an African American with a chunk of his ear missing wearing a grey hoodie with blue jeans sitting up and glaring at us.

"Some of us gotta be up early." He grumbled.

"Who's that?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know." Sarah replied.

"I don't recognize the voice." Bec added.

"No problem! Sorry about that." Reggie also apologized. The man groaned, laid back down, and put his pillow over his head.

Reggie turned back to us. "OK, that's Mike. He's kind of a dick when he's tired."

Tess smirked. "Sounds like someone me and my siblings know." She said, turning to me.

I frowned and lightly punched her arm. "Shut up…"

"But… like I said, he and Chris Kyle here saved my life, so… I put up with that shit. Bill put him to work outside the wall with me." Reggie said.

"I'm so sorry…" Bec said.

"Stop with all the sorry. It was my choice. Besides, he said once you were all caught, he'd let me rejoin the group… so, I'm you're here." He said before he smiled. "I'm just joking."

Bec smiled. "I know…"

"I mean, he did say that, but I'm not happy about it." Reggie admitted.

"Who's she?" I heard Clementine ask.

"Who?" Chris and I asked. I followed her gaze and found a girl sitting at a picnic table not too far from our position looking at us. She looked to be in late teens to early twenties. She had short, cropped brown hair. She wore a brown jacket over a green shirt with blue jeans. Okay, I definitely didn't recognize her.

The girl saw all of us looking at her and stood up. "Oh, yeah. Okay, so she's fuckin' weird. They found her sneaking around outside of the camp covered in guts and just, like, the grossest shit." Reggie explained as the girl walked over to a spot near the 'bunk beds' and laid down. "It's probably best not to stare." Bec told Clementine.

As Reggie kept talking, my gaze wandered over to a corner of the yard. I saw a woman in her early thirties sitting there. She had brown hair and bistre eyes. She wore a dark purple zipped up jacket with blue jeans and brown boots. I could see her looking at us, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

Who is she? I've never seen her around here before...

"What abot her? Who's she?" Clementine questioned, gaining the others' attention. We all saw the woman in the corner and she blinked when she noticed us.

"Hm?" Reggie asked, but as soon as he saw the woman, he blinked. "Ah, her. That's Evonne. They found her outside the fence and brought her in here a few weeks ago. She told us she was looking for someone, but wouldn't say who..." He explained with a shrug.

The woman, Evonne, then walked up to us. "Hello..." She greeted.

"Hey..." Chris muttered.

"Are these the people you told me about, Reggie?" She asked. Reggie nodded.

"Yeah, but some of them are new." Reggie explained. "Everyone, this is Evonne. Evonne, this is Chris and his half-sisters Tess and Emily..."

Chris crossed his arms and nodded. "Hey..."

"The girl next it him is his girlfriend, Anne."

"Hi." I nodded.

"Luke, Sarah, Nick, and Rebecca..." He continued. The four nodded or waved hello.

"Chase and his brother Dylan..."

Chase nodded. "What's up?"

"Jennifer and Rebecca..."

"Howdy." Jennifer said. "We're calling the other Rebecca 'Bec' so we don't get confused." I explained to Evonne.

"Kenny and Sarita..."

Sarita smiled. "Hello."

"And Clementine." Reggie finished as he gestured to Clementine with his remaining arm. Evonne nodded.

"It's very nice to meet you all." She said.

"So, Carver brought you here?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes... I was outside the wall, and this loud guy, Troy started yelling at me and held me at gunpoint. After talking to this man, Bill, I think... Troy just shoved me in here, telling me that I'll have to work, and I've been here for a while, now..."

Chris frowned. "Troy... That asshole..."

"Reggie mentioned that you were looking for someone..." I said.

Evonne flinched. "Yes... I've been looking for her for a while now... But I can't find her..."

She shook her head. "I need to go sit down..." She muttered before she headed over to the picnic tables that the short haired woman was once at.

As Reggie continued talking to us, I could see Evonne staring at us...

Wait, is she staring at me?

Evonne noticed that I caught her and quickly looks away. I blinked.

That was weird...

"I know how it must look, but it's really not that bad here." Reggie said.

"Reggie…" Tess sighed.

"No, I'm serious. Where else are you gonna food like we have? We've got the canned stuff and now with the greenhouses coming along, we've got fresh food. The building's getting more and more secure all the time…" Reggie paused as he took a step away from us, then turned back around. "… mostly through forced labor, but that's only temporary. They've even got the solar panels working. When was the last time you guys had electricity, huh?"

"Well, we just came from a lodge with a wind turbine and-" Sarah started.

"It's not a competition." Reggie cut her off. "I'm just saying, it's not as bad as you think. We're building something great here, guys. A real community. Bill is making it happen. Look, I've made mistakes, and he's forgiven me."

"That doesn't make up for what he's done, Reggie! Look at what he did to Coleen!" Chris spoke up as Tess and Emily came to us.

"Carver killed my friend Walter." Clementine said. Chase frowned. "Yeah, he took him and shot him straight in the head!" He said. I closed my eye sadly. Walter was such a good guy…

Reggie was clearly surprised by this news. "Okay, I-I don't know what happened, but maybe he had his reasons-"

"His reason is that he's a fucking monster!" Tess snapped.

"He's a crazy piece of shit!" Kenny agreed.

Reggie sighed. "Listen, I'm really close to being let back in the group. Once that happens, I can do a lot more to help you guys be more comfortable."

"Comfortable? What do you think this is?!" Kenny asked as he crossed his arms.

"Reggie, this place will never bring comfort to me as long as that fucktard I called a father is alive!" Chris agreed.

"I just don't want you to mess things up for me. I've worked really hard to get to this point. Will you please just try not cause any trouble? At least until they release me?" Reggie requested. "Then once I'm out, I could help you more. Maybe even help get you out."

"We won't get you in trouble." Clementine said.

Reggie smiled gratefully. "They're expecting me to keep things in line out here."

"Well, if Carver's such a 'great guy', I'm sure you've got nothin' to worry about." Kenny piped up. Chris glared at the bearded-man, who glared right back.

"We can talk about it more in the morning. Just have a quiet night and chat again tomorrow." Reggie suggested.

_"Are you fucking kidding me?!"_ I thought to myself.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing…" Bec muttered, voicing my thoughts.

"Look, the fact is, Bill had every right to kill me when I helped you guys out, but he didn't. Obviously, I don't know what happened while you guys were gone, but he's given me a second chance and I know he'd do the same for you."

"He didn't give Coleen a second chance! He didn't give her a chance at all!" Chris growled.

"Reggie, I don't want a second chance. I want to leave with my family. That's it." Bec said firmly.

"Your family is safer here…"

"It's not safe as long as Carver's around!" I snapped. "Yeah, he almost put a bullet in my girlfriend's head several hours ago!" Chris agreed.

Bec suddenly gasped and placed a hand on her stomach. The baby had to be kicking hard…

"I need to sit down…"

Sarita stepped up to her. "Yeah, come on. Sarah? Can you go see if there's something for her to drink?" Sarita requested.

"OK." Sarah nodded. "Yeah, there's water over by the benches." Reggie pointed out as we all started heading in different directions. As Chris, his sisters, Nick and I left, I heard Reggie say "That didn't go as planned… should have actually made a plan…"

The five of us walked over to the bunk beds as Tess and Nick got into one of them together, as did Chris and I.

I then noticed Clementine checking out the bunk beds. "Guess it's better than the ground."

"It's not." Chris said. Clementine then walked over to us.

"Hey Clem." Nick greeted as he sat up. Chris, Tess, and I also sat up. "Just thinkin' about Luke. Just… there's no way he's gone. I've known him for damn near twenty years now and I can't buy it. Course I can't say the thought never crossed my mind. Things change. The whole damn world changed."

"Nick…" Tess sighed.

"I think you're right. He'd never abandon you guys." Clementine said.

"You mean us guys." Chris corrected, smiling at her. "Yeah, you're one of us, now." I agreed. Clementine smiled. "Yeah."

Emily smiled and patted her on the head. "I'm glad you're with us, Clem."

Nick yawned and laid back down. "Guess I oughta try and get some sleep. You guys should, too." He said. "Damn right, they're gonna ride our asses for sure tomorrow." Chris added.

"Okay."

"Night."

Clementine walked away as Chris pulled me closer to him. "You OK, baby?" He asked me.

I sighed. "My guitar… it was back at the lodge…"

"I know…"

I laid my head on his chest. "I paid over eighty five bucks for that thing! Eighty five!"

He chuckled slightly. "It's okay, Anne… we can find you another one…"

I smiled slightly at his attempt to comfort me. "Thanks, sweetie…"

Just then, I heard the door open. I looked over my shoulder and saw Carlos step in. His broke fingers were now in a cast. Sarah smiled and jumped to her feet.

"Dad!" She exclaimed happily as she jumped forward and hugged him tightly. Troy scowled. "Alright, go the fuck to sleep! I'm shootin' the first one of y'all I see wanderin' around before sun-up!" He snapped as he stepped back to the door. "Troy, where's Alvin?!" Bec asked.

"Everybody get to bed!" Troy growled as he slammed the door back down and left.

Chris growled a little as he left. "Man, I hate that prick…"

"Ditto…" I muttered. Everyone started heading toward places to sleep. Kenny and Sarita got in one beside Chris and me. Dylan and Rebecca got in one above us while Chase and Jennifer got in one below us.

"Baby?" I said to him.

"Hmm?" He hummed.

"When we were being brought back, were you trying to hide your claustrophobia?" I asked, and knew he stiffened.

"Y-Yeah." He replied.

"Okay. I just needed to know. Night."

"Night, Annie."

I laid my head against Chris's chest and closed my eye. I then let sleep get the best of me and drifted off to sleep.

**That's chapter thirteen. I apologize it took me so long to get this out. I've been busy with schoolwork and other stories, it ain't even funny. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Revelation and Correction**

**Chris's POV**

I awoke with a gasp. My hand subconsciously went to my right arm and stopped at the shoulder. I glanced around, seeing that I was back in the yard. I groaned.

Damn nightmares...

"Can't sleep?" I heard a voice ask. I looked up to see Evonne sitting by the fire. I nodded, left my bed, and walked over to the woman. I took a seat next to her.

"So, how'd you end up here?" I asked. Evonne sighed sadly. "I've been traveling the country looking for my daughter... 14 years now... One day, I ended up here and Troy pointed a gun at my head. Carver then put me in the yard and I've been here ever since..." She explained.

"What... happened to your daughter?" I asked.

Evonne sighed sadly again. "When she was only five weeks old... someone broke into my house... And took her away from me... Just before he escaped out the window with my daughter in his arms... I saw his face..."

She clenched her fist. "I called the police as soon as he escaped... They immediately began a search party... But found no trace of my baby girl..."

I clenched my fists. "She was kidnapped?!"

Evonne sniffled. "Y-yes... She was taken away from me... Just like that... I've been searching for 14 years, now... Now, I can only hope that she's somewhere out there..."

I gave her a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry, Evonne... What does your daughter look like?"

She pulled out a picture and handed it to me. It was a picture of a baby girl. "She's pretty..." I commented.

Evonne smiled. "Thanks. I'm proud of my work..."

I chuckled lightly, but my smile fell as I examined the picture. Something seems familiar about her...

I looked back at Anne, who was asleep, before looking back at the picture. The baby girl had brown hair... just like Anne's... and the baby's eyes were the same color as hers... One red, one green...

There were a few similarities between them... Hmm...

"Excuse me for a second." I told Evonne before I walked back to the bunks. I nudged Anne lightly, who groaned in response. "What...?" she asked sleepily.

"I need to talk to you about something, baby." I told her. She yawned and got up. "What's it about?" she asked.

"Come on..." I led her back over to Evonne and explained why Evonne was here.

"... so you've been lookin' for your daughter?" Anne questioned. Evonne nodded. "Can I... see the picture of the baby?" Anne asked.

I nodded in response and handed her the photo. As she examined it, I couldn't shake my hunch off. So I did something very unexpected.

"Can I take your bandana off, sweetie?" I asked her. She blinked in surprise. "W-why? You know how I feel about taking it off..." She muttered.

"Please? I just need to check something..."

After a moment, she sighed and reluctantly nodded. I then carefully took the bandana off and she pushed her bangs out of her face, revealing her red eye.

Evonne eyes widened slightly as she saw Anne's eyes. "M-my daughter had the same eye color as you..." She stammered.

I blinked. What...?

I looked down at the photo, then back at Anne. The baby in the picture had the same eyes as Anne, same nose, same hair...

Evonne drew in a shaky breath. "Anne... Who are your parents?"

Wait, why is she...?

"James and Eileen Marshall..." Anne replied.

As soon as those words left her mouth, Evonne paled. She gasped and held a hand up to her mouth in shock. Then, she slowly lowered it, tearing up. "Annie...?"

She started stroking her hair. "My Annie...?"

My eyes widened behind my sunglasses. What?!

Evonne suddenly let out a sob and hugged a confused Anne tightly. "Annie, I'm so sorry! I-I looked EVERYWHERE for you!" She sobbed.

Oh my god... Is she...?!

Anne, though confused, gently returned the hug. "Evonne, why are you crying?" She asked. Evonne pulled away from her and sniffled. "Y-you're my daughter, Anne!"

My eyes widened. HOLY SHIT!

Anne gasped. "WHAT?! No way! My parents are James and Eileen Marshall!" She protested. Evonne shook her head and grabbed Anne by the shoulders. "They're not your parents, they're your kidnappers!"

WHAT?!

Anne gasped again. "WHAT?! But-" She began, but Evonne cut her off. "They took you away from me when you were only five weeks old! They took you from your real family! From me! Anne... Your name isn't Anne Marshall... It's Anne Martinez..."

Both of Anne's eyes widened. "W-what?!" She gasped. "It's true, Annie... They're not your parents... Anne... Look me in the eyes..." Evonne instructed, and Anne did. "Anne... I am your mother... Your REAL mother! The ones who took you aren't your parents! You're my daughter! YOU'RE MY DAUGHTER, ANNE!"

I stood there shell-shocked. Holy shit... Evonne is Anne's mother?!

Anne stared at Evonne for a moment before she gasped. "M...M-Mom...?" She asked cautiously.

Evonne smiled, nodding as tears came out of her eyes. "Y-yes... I'm your mom, Anne!"

Anne gasped and her hand flew up to her mouth in shock as tears started to pour out of her eyes.

"MOM!" She cried as she leaped forward and hugged Evonne tightly. Evonne sobbed and hugged Anne back.

"M-MOMMY!" Anne sobbed.

"ANNIE! MY ANNIE!" Evonne cried. "I've l-looked for you for so long! And I've finally found you! Oh, sweetheart, I missed you so much!"

I stood there as I watched the mother and daughter duo embrace each other. Behind my sunglasses, a tear slipped from my eye, remembering Coleen, but I wiped it away and watched my girlfriend and her mother. I smiled slightly.

_"Baby... I'm so happy for you..."_ I thought to myself.

Tess and Emily came over to us at that point.

"What the fuck is going on that couldn't wait until morning?" Tess grumbled.

"Anne just found her mother." I replied before explaining everything to them.

After that, we all went back to our bunk beds and fell asleep.

/The Next Morning\

So… dark…

I couldn't see or hear very well.

_"Mm… what's going on?"_ I thought to myself.

"They… sleep… won't… wake them… now…"

I couldn't tell whose voice I was hearing. I was still shocked from the events from last night to think straight.

I sank deeper into our pillow.

Suddenly, I felt a foot go against my ribcage followed by "WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

My eyes flew open and I looked to see Troy looking down at us.

"Don't fuckin' kick me, asshole." I growled as Anne woke up.

"Just get up, Bill's gonna have a word." Troy said, then walked away.

"Remind me to kick that prick's ass when we get out of here, baby." I said.

"Will do." She said.

We then got up and then walked over to where the others were just as Carver, Tavia, and a few other guards stepped into the yard and faced us.

Carver was silent for a moment as he looked at us, then he spoke. "There's been increased walker activity along the fence, so be mindful when outside the walls. The herd's moved a little closer as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit."

I looked at Anne to see her rolling her eye, making me stifle a snicker.

"Know that we're monitoring the situation. Now, there are some folks that might be sore about what happened… and how things went…"

Tess, Bec and I glared at him hatefully when those words left his mouth.

"Well, that's all in the past now. Some of you are new to our community. Some of you are members who went astray. But know that you can find redemption here… forgiveness… by proving your worth through what will undoubtedly be hard work."

I snarled under my breath. Like you're one to talk about forgiveness and redemption.

"Reggie, you're nearly back in. Keep following the path and we'll welcome you back with open arms." He told Reggie. "Let Reggie be an example to you all. Salvation is available, but it must be earned… Chris, Tess, and Emily, my children, since they ran away also, will have to EARN back my trust, just like you all… Anne, you have also gone astray, but you can find forgiveness from me through the work that we will have you do. If you want salvation back, you will have to earn it…"

I scoffed quietly. _"We will find no salvation from this hellhole."_ I thought to myself.

I drown out the sound of his voice by remembering the revelation from last night. I then stopped thinking about it when I saw Sarah talking with Clementine. A feeling of fear began to grow in me.

"I was so tired…" I heard Sarah say.

"Pay attention."

"OK, yeah. Sounds good. I just thought it was nice to finally-"

"Carlos!" Carver snapped. We all froze.

"Yes?"

"You're child seems to be in need of some correction."

I wasn't happy with the tone that carried when he said that last word, so I decided to be ready to intervene.

Carlos sighed as I walked to Sarah. "I'm sorry… Sarah, a-apologize to Mr. Carver." He told his daughter. She looked down at her feet. "I… I'm sorry, sir…" She said meekly, but I knew Carver wasn't satisfied.

I looked to see him frowning. "No, no… that ain't gonna cut it. I can't have this kind of behavior on your first day of reform. You discipline her now, Carlos." He ordered.

"H-How do you propose that I-"

"One good smack across the mouth should do it. It'll make her think twice before opening it again." He replied while crossing his arms. "Go on, we'll wait."

I looked at Tess to see her nod her head. We both then walked to Sarah, and placed our arms in front of her.

"Guess what, you little shit: You do anything to make him hurt her, you'll have me to be afraid of." I said, making Carver glare at me.

"Get out of the way." He barked.

"Over my dead body." I barked back.

"I… I'm not sure that with my hand I could-" Carlos started before Carver cut him off.

"Well, that's why you've got two hands, Carlos. Come on, and not some 'namby-pamby' thing. A good, hard smack! Otherwise, Troy will do it for ya. I don't think you want that. He can be… overzealous. Is that the word?" He asked Troy. The latter nodded. "If it means that I'll slap the shit out of her, then yeah." Troy confirmed.

I snarled. "It's like I said back at the lodge: You take joy in torture, you snarling bastard." I said.

"It was my fault!" Clementine said, helping me and my sister defend Sarah. Troy scowled. "Hey! No one's fuckin' talking to you." He growled, but Carver held his hand up, silencing him.

"Unless you want what she's about to get, I'd pipe down, missy." I hissed at him for that.

"I'll take the punishment." I said, making everyone look at me in surprise.

"No, you won't. Now, you and your half-sister better get out of the way."

"Like I'm gonna listen to the man who was never my father."

Anne and Nick came to the two of us. We reluctantly walked with them and stood next to Evonne. Carlos closed his eyes sadly before turning to Sarah.

"I-I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry…"

"Close your eyes, honey. It's only going to sting for a second." Carlos gently said. Sarah obliged and shut her eyes tightly as we all looked on in horror.

"DO IT!" Carver ordered.

Carlos reluctantly slapped Sarah across the face, resulting in her hurtling towards the ground.

"Jesus Christ…" I whispered as I knelt beside her. Anne covered her mouth in shock. Chase growled and clenched his fists. Sarah sat there, holding her cheek and whimpering. Carlos was horrified by what he had done. He stepped up to her. "I'm sorry, Sarah-"

"Stop!" Carver snapped. "You're not coddling that girl anymore! Let her sit there and think about what she's done."

He frowned at my attempts to comfort Sarah. I, in turn, gave him my icy cold glare.

"That's the problem with you, boy. Always-"

"YOU SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!" I furiously cut him off. He simply frowned as he looked to Troy.

"Troy, get Carlos to his post. Everyone else should have their assignments. It's time to get to work."

Troy looked down at Sarah. "God damn, you really knocked the shit out of her, Doc!" I simply glared at him as I wrapped my arms around Sarah.

Carver looked over his shoulder. "Everyone get to work!"

I stood up after Sarah didn't want me to help her up. I looked at Anne and saw she had a look of sympathy for the poor girl.

We reached out to her, but Tavia stepped up to us and Clem. "You three are working in the armory. Follow me." She ordered.

She turned around and walked out of the yard. I looked at Anne to see her frown at her back as we followed her.

"Soil coming up!"

HELLO!

Two large bags of soil suddenly fell and landed just inches away from the three of us. Anne yelped in surprise and jumped back slightly. We looked up, seeing the woman from last night on the roof looking down at us.

"Oh shit…" She muttered.

"Goddamn this thing!" We heard a man growl.

"Chris! Clementine! Anne!" Tavia called. The three of us quickly ran to her and followed her down the hall.

As we walked, Anne and I saw a girl with short brown hair wearing a brown long sleeved shirt looking at us.

Great...

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." She said. Anne and I stopped walking and glared at her.

"Nice to see you, too, Becca." Anne greeted sarcastically.

Becca was one of the few people in the camp who was a teenager like Sarah, Anne, and me.

"I heard you two and those others were brought back." Becca said.

I frowned at her, while still glaring at her. "Yep..."

"And Sarah's back, too... I wish she'd stayed gone." She muttered.

I then had enough and picked her up and slammed her against a nearby shelf.

"Say that again..." I snarled.

"She's a baby... I'm simply stating the truth."

I growled at her. "She's had it rough, okay?! My asshole of a father just forced her father to slap her!" I exclaimed.

Becca's eyes widened at this news.

Anne then placed a hand on my shoulder to try and calm me down. "Baby, stop." She calmly said to me, making me release her.

"Wow! You two are together?! I didn't expect that." She said.

After that, Anne and I walked back to Clementine. "What was that all about?" She asked.

"Nothing, Clem. Just that Becca can be a pain in the ass sometimes." I replied.

As we kept walking down the hall, I spotted a girl with braided light black hair, a grey denim jacket, a grey T-shirt, black skinny jeans, and white boots smiling at me.

I smirked. Now there's a face I haven't seen in a long time.

"Hey, Chris." She said to me.

"Hey, Verity." I greeted.

Verity was one of the few kids that didn't pick on me. She helped my half-sisters keep the bullies away from me. She's also the one who called the paramedics when she found me bleeding to death that night.

Anne looked at me and rose an eyebrow.

"Oh right. Anne, this is Verity Clinton, the girl who ended up saving my life. Verity, this is my girlfriend, Anne." I introduced, resulting in the girls shaking hands. Verity then turned her attention back to me.

"I heard you, your half-sisters, Carlos and the others were brought back." She said.

I nodded. "Yeah…"

Verity noticed Anne and I had sad looks on our faces.

"What happened?" She asked.

"My dick of a father forced Carlos to slap his daughter, Sarah, not too long ago." I replied. She went wide eyed. "Really?" She asked, and my girlfriend nodded.

After that, the three of us kept following Tavia. We reached our destination and Tavia opened the door leading into the armory.

"Go on inside. Bonnie's waiting inside. Along with another prisoner."

The three of us stepped inside and Tavia closed the door. I looked to see a with walnut brown hair, a white track jacket, a black T-shirt, grey jeans, grey running shoes, and black fingerless gloves sitting in one of five chairs.

Oh… it's HIM…

"Well, look who's come back." He said, earning a glare from me.

"Nice to see you, too, Patrick." I greeted sarcastically.

Bonnie gestured for the three of us to sit down. "Someone's gonna have to sit between me and him, cause if I sit next to him, a fight will break out."

Anne sat in between me and Patrick.

"Hey… I guess you three are starting your day with me. We're loading magazines." Bonnie said. I leaned towards Anne's ear. "I'll try to not unload one into that prick's chest." I whispered, causing her to look at Patrick, who cleared his throat on purpose.

"Right. Clementine and Anne, That's Patrick Hartnell. Patrick, the girl on your right in Clementine and the girl between us is my girlfriend, Anne." I reluctantly introduced. Patrick suddenly smiled.

"Yes, you can have Verity, Patrick." I answered his unspoken question. The three females looked at me with raised eyebrows. I sighed with annoyance. "Verity had a crush on me, Patrick has a crush on her." I explained.

"I… suppose I owe you an apology." Bonnie said.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"I wasn't truthful when I came across y'all back at the lodge… and I was shown a kindness I never would've expected from a group of strangers. But… now folks are dead… and I can't help but feel that I'm to blame… but the plan was for no one to get hurt. I truly believe that was the intent. At least it was mine going in…"

"Don't blame yourself." I said.

"He's right. It was just a bad situation… that got worse. A lot of people are to blame." Clem agreed.

"That's big of you both, but… I know what I done… but I wanted you to know that I regret my part in all of this."

I saw the sincerity in her eyes, and knew she meant what she said.

"I apologize… which don't account for much, but it's all I can offer right now."

"Bonnie… you really mean that?" Anne asked. She nodded. "Yes, Anne, I truly mean it. I swear, I regret my part in this…"

She was silent for a moment. "So, how was your first night in the yard? I know it ain't so comfortable, but it's safe… which is more than I can say about a lot of places out there…"

I looked at Anne to see her in thought.

"You mean my first night in prison…" Clementine muttered.

"Don't think of it that way… think of it as more of a work release." Bonnie suggested.

Clem rose an eyebrow. "Didn't they do those in prisons?"

Bonnie and I chuckled. "I don't really know. I've never been to prison." She admitted before looking at the three of us. "Don't tell no one. Tryin' to keep a tough reputation."

Anne smiled a little while I quietly chuckle. She's not that bad…

"I was supposed to go… when Luke and Carlos and all them left. I was planning on leavin' too."

"Really?" Anne asked as I rose an eyebrow. "Yeah… when Luke approached me about it, I thought he was crazy. I mean, we're safe here. We got power. We got food. And Bill… he wasn't always like this…"

"Well, why didn't you leave if you were gonna?" I asked.

She sighed. "If I'm being honest… I guess I chickened out. I justified not goin' and change something that's broken than start all over. Take this situation with the herd… that's the type of thing that rips a community apart. Bill keeps things in line… he's got a lot of this stuff figured out. I don't know… I guess I just wanted to be somewhere safe for a while."

Anne frowned. "Nobody's safe here with Carver around. Look at what happened to Coleen." She said. I sniffled as I remembered the day he left her to die. Anne started rubbing my back soothingly.

"You're safe if you stay on his good side." Bonnie said.

"I don't think he has one anymore. He never helped me when I was…" I cut myself off as I looked away, trying to hide my tears. Anne pulled me toward her and I cried into her chest a little bit.

"I would if I knew where it was." Clem said.

"I mean, it ain't easy keeping a group this big fed and protected. I don't envy that position. Figure that'd make someone stressed." Bonnie said. "I'm not defending what he did. That was…" She paused before she sighed. "I'm alive because of him. That's just a fact. And Chris, I am so sorry about Coleen. I really am."

I looked up to her, while still keeping my head on my girlfriend's chest and nodded, accepting her apology.

"Sounds like you really respect Carver." Clem inquired.

"It's not that. I just have sympathy for the man… even though sometimes it's hard for him to do the same."

I finally stopped crying and pulled away from Anne as Bonnie grabbed another magazine and started loading it. "Luke had ideas about how things should go, but they didn't line up with what Bill was thinking… they butted heads, then Bec started showing, and that only made things worse. Maybe Luke was right about him. I wish he was around, but… I just hope that he's safe."

I nodded in agreement. "So do I…"

Just then, Bonnie's radio came on.

_"Hey Bonnie, is Chris, Anne, and the girl still down there? I need to come and get them."_Tavia said. I sneered. God, I hate that bitch…

Bonnie picked up the radio and pressed the button. "Yeah, they're here." She confirmed.

_"OK, I'll be right there."_

Tavia then hung up. Bonnie then stood up. "Oh, I almost forgot! I grabbed these for you three." She said as she walked over to a box and pulled out three jackets. One was a sky blue jacket with a rainbow on the front and the other two were leather jackets. One red, one black.

I smiled. "No. Fucking. Way!" I said as I slipped the red jacket on me. Anne took the black jacket. Clementine put on the rainbow jacket and zipped it up. Bonnie smiled and put a hand on her hip. "Huh? What do you think? I found those at the lodge y'all were at." She explained.

"It's cool. I like it." Clem said with a smile.

Bonnie smiled as well. "Well, I'm glad. Thought it was pretty cute."

"Hey Clem, do I look cool in this or what?" Anne asked with a grin as she gestured to her jacket. Clementine smiled lightly. "Yeah." She said with a nod.

"I agree. You look stylish, sweetie." I agreed with a smile.

"Just give me a pair of sunglasses and I'm ready to go!" Anne joked. She, Bonnie, and Clem laughed until they saw a frown on my face.

Anne eventually smirked as she admired my jacket. "I love the color. It matches your eyes, baby." She said. I smiled too. "Nice save, baby." I said. I then went back to admiring my jacket. At one point, I looked at Patrick to see him smirk.

"He has eyes? I thought he was blind." He joked, and I was trying my hardest not to strangle him, until I came up with an idea.

"Okay, if you don't want me to help you get a date with Verity, be that way." I retorted. He went wide eyed.

"My bad, dude." He apologized, and I smirked.

"That's what I thought. But seriously, if you want me to help you win Verity's love, let me know."

He quickly nodded his head. "Okay, you don't want help from a guy to win her heart. You'll need a girl to help with that." Anne said.

"Okay, then. Good luck, baby." I challenged, holding my hand out. She smirked and shook it.

"Oh, Anne, I also grabbed this for ya." Bonnie told her as she walked to another table. Anne watched her and rose an eyebrow as she pulled something out from behind a table and walked back over to us with it. Her eye widened at the item she carried. It was…

"MY GUITAR!" She gasped as Bonnie handed it to her. Bonnie smiled. "Yep. I knew how much you liked this thing, so I grabbed it when no one was looking before we left the lodge." She explained.

Anne smiled as she slung her guitar over her shoulder. "Thank you, Bonnie. You don't know how much this means to me…"

"Don't mention it. By the way, Chris, I picked up a little something for you, too." Bonnie said to me. I rose an eyebrow as she walked to another table. She picked something up and then walked back to us. I stood awestruck by what I saw in her hands. It was…

"MY SAIS!" I said as she handed them to me. "Yeah. I knew how much you loved these bad boys, so I snatched them after I grabbed Anne's guitar. I stashed into my jacket." Bonnie explained.

I spun the Sais around for a bit before I placed them in the pockets in my new jacket. "Thanks, Bonnie. You have no idea how much this means to me…"

"No problem." She said to me before turning her attention to Clementine. "You better watch yourself. I think some folks might be jealous of that cool jacket of yours."

Then, of course, Tavia just HAD to ruin the moment.

"Oh, there you are. What's with the ugly jacket?"

You're one to talk, bitch…

"Tavia!" Bonnie sighed.

"What?"

Bonnie shook her head. "Nevermind. I'll see you three later."

"Okay. See ya, Bonnie." I said as Clem, Anne, and I followed Tavia out of the armory.

We then walked through a door that led to the roof.

"Follow me. Come on." Tavia ordered. We followed her to what I presumed was one of the greenhouses Reggie was talking about last night. I looked at Anne to see her looking over the edge, seeing how high we were.

Remembering she hates heights, I walked over to her.

"We'll be fine, honey." I assured her as I wrapped my arms around her to calm her down.

She nodded and we walked away from the edge. Tavia opened the door to the greenhouse and we step inside with Clem.

"Stay in here for a minute. I'm gonna radio down and find out what you're doing. Don't touch anything." Tavia said before shutting the door.

I took a look around the greenhouse and I was amazed by the very sight. There were fresh plants everywhere! Some even with edible food!

I heard whimpering and recognize the voice.

Sarah…

I looked to my left and saw her huddled in a corner, whimpering as she rocked back and forth. Anne, Clem and I walked over to her and knelt by her side.

"Hey, Sarah…" Anne greeted softly. We all could see a red hand imprint on her chest.

I opened my arms for her and she slowly leaned into them and wrapped her arms around me.

"My Dad's never hit me before…" Sarah spoke as she pulled away from me and gingerly placed a hand on her cheek. "Even when I was really bad… he never hit me."

"It wasn't your father, honey. It was the man I used to call 'Dad'." I said, looking to the two other girls for support.

"Yeah. Carlos didn't want to, Sarah. Carver made him." Anne agreed.

"He's the bad guy, not your dad." Clem added. "So, in a weird way, Carver's the one who hit you… not your dad."

Sarah thought about that for a minute. "I guess so… well, then Carver hit me super hard… cause it still hurts like crazy."

She then looked at us. "Thanks… for trying to help."

"Of course, Sarah." I said.

Clem and Anne smiled for a brief moment. "I don't know why people have to be so mean. Even when I'm really mad, I still don't wanna hurt anyone…"

Just then, Tavia stepped in with Reggie and Verity. "Don't mess this up." Tavia told Reggie.

"Yeah, I get it." Reggie said.

"Reggie's in charge here, okay? Listen to him carefully."

"Yep. No problem, Tavia."

Tavia then shut the door. Verity scowled. "God, I hate that bitch…" She muttered. I smirked. Nice one, Ver…

Suddenly, the door opened back up and Tavia looked at us. "Someone say something?"

"No." All of us said at once in surprise. She bought it and closed the door.

Reggie then turned to Clem, Sarah, Verity, Anne, and I. "Okay, we gotta do a good job, guys. The camp is counting on us. Come on, I'll show you what to do. It's super easy." He said as he led us to over to a table. "Pick up a pair of these shears."

We obliged, but Sarah hesitated before picking hers up.

"OK, so we're picking these berries, right? Just pick them, put them in the basket. It's pretty simple. While you're at it, if you see any dead branches, take those shears, cut them off, and stack them neatly for composting. You got it?"

"So… we're basically gardening?" Verity asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Reggie nodded. "Something like that."

"My step-mom and I used to tend to our garden." I piped up.

We all then walked away from Sarah's table. Reggie looked at Sarah before looking at Anne and Clem. "Hey, so… is she gonna be okay? Cause what happened was down there… that was straight fucked up. I don't want her freaking out getting me in trouble."

"We talked to her, Reggie. I think she's okay." Anne told him.

He nodded. "Good… good. Cause I'm awful at that kind of stuff. Look, Bill's had it out for me ever since I helped those guys escape, so I gotta concentrate on my work."

He was silent for a moment before he suddenly patted Clementine on the head. I snickered as I saw the unamused look on her face.

Reggie took a step back. "That was awkward… I won't do that again. I'm gonna go work now." Reggie said before he patted Anne on the head. "See ya, Raggedy Anne."

I sighed with sadness when he passed by me. "What's wrong, Chris Kyle?" He asked me.

"I was just remembering what I dealt with as a kid." I replied, fighting tears already.

Reggie rose an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

I stiffened. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Reggie placed his hand on my shoulder. "Come on, buddy. You know you can-" He started before I cut him off.

"I SAID I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!" I snapped.

Reggie looked surprised and stepped back a little. "I'm sorry I asked." He said.

"No, Reggie. I'm the one who should be sorry. It's just that when I was a kid, I… I was constantly being bullied." I confessed.

He went wide eyed. I nodded my head. "It may seem hard to believe, but it's true. Ask Tess or even Verity here. They know better than anyone."

"It's true." Verity said.

My hand subconsciously went to my arm.

Reggie was about to roll up the sleeve when I jerked back. "No, please don't." I pleaded, drawing the attention of the other girls. I sighed.

"What is it, baby?" Anne asked me.

"Why don't you wanna roll up your sleeve?" Clem asked.

I sighed. "Because of…" I started as I reluctantly took off my jacket and rolled up my sleeve, stopping at the shoulder, revealing a scar going from my wrist all the way to my shoulder. "… this."

Everyone looked at me with looks of shock, Anne's mixed with anger. "Who did that to you, sweetie?" She calmly asked.

"Amanda Harris. She and my ex-girlfriend, Kate Walker, grabbed me by my arms and legs and dragged me down into an alley. I ended up on my back as Amanda used her legs to keep mine still, while Kate held my arms down. Amanda snatched my right arm, rolled the sleeve up to my shoulder, pulled out her switch blade, and dragged the knife down my arm, stopping at the wrist. Verity heard me screaming and ran to help me. That's when I ended up in the hospital." I explained.

We all then got back to work after that. A while later, Verity, Anne, and I finished our work. "Finally." Verity groaned. I chuckled at her. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"Well, I enjoyed doing this. It reminded me of when my step-mom and I tended to our garden." I replied.

We all turned to Sarah's table to see that she finished her work too.

"Good job, Sarah." I praised.

"Yeah. This isn't that hard." Clem said.

"I know, I'm just afraid that I'll make a mistake…"

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's not the end of the world if you do." I assured her. "Just keep going."

Just then, Carver came in. Like I needed to see his face right now.

Reggie turned to Clem's table and went wide eyed. "You didn't do any of your work, Clem!" He said.

We all then went wide eyed when we saw he was right.

Carver came in. "Just checking in… seeing how the new girls and my disappointing son are working out."

I inwardly scoffed. Like you're one to talk about disappointment when it comes to family.

He noticed Clem's unfinished work and frowned. "Reggie…" He began, dangerously calm. "Yeah, Bill?" Reggie nervously asked. "What the fuck happened here?" Carver asked.

"Look, Bill, they're new, and me and my arm, it's not easy- I have one arm-"

"Shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up." Carver demanded. "You better have an explanation for this. And I mean now."

My eyes widened behind my sunglasses as Reggie tried to come up with something to say. Carver then cut him off. "Sounds like you're about to give me an excuse when I asked for an explanation."

"Dammit, Dad, give the man a break. Put yourself in his position. If you had one arm, don't you think it'd be hard to get the work done?" I asked. He just glared at me. "I don't think I was talkin' to you."

"We'll get it done. Just give us some time-"

"It's my fault. I helped Sarah do her work." Clementine piped up. Carver just shook his head. "Nah, this ain't your fault…"

I tensed as Carver frowned. "We talked about this, Reggie, didn't we? But, you just don't get it, do you?"

"Get what? I… I…"

Carver crossed his arms. "Why don't you go wait outside? Reggie and I have a few things to talk about."

"Reggie-" Anne started, but he cut her off. "Anne, go. I'll be okay…" Reggie told her.

"Come on, honey." I said as I wrapped my arms around her and we stepped out of the greenhouse with Clementine, Verity, and Sarah. I noticed Sarah walking to the edge of the roof, rubbing her arms. I let go of Anne and walked to the raven haired girl. I wrapped my arms around her.

"It's okay, honey." I said as the others took notice.

"Sarah…?" Anne asked slowly as they approached the two of us. Clem reached out to her. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Suddenly, the greenhouse door slammed open. Reggie stumbled out as Carver stormed towards him, backing him to the edge of the roof.

"I gave you plenty of chances!" Carver snapped.

"NO, NO, NO, NO" PLEASE, BILL! NO! NO! PLEASE!" Reggie pleaded before Carver grabbed the front of his shirt.

I knew what Carver was gonna do, I grabbed his arm, but he pushed me to the ground.

"NO!" Clem, Anne, Verity, and I exclaimed as we tried to get to our friend, but it was too late.

"REGGIE!" I shouted as Carver threw Reggie off the edge of the building. We all heard a sickening splat, which meant only thing. We looked over the edge to see Reggie's body with a pool of blood forming around it.

"Jesus Christ…" Verity groaned at the sight. Anne covered her mouth in horror.

"Weakness… incompetence… it puts us all at risk." Carver said as he crossed his arms. "And it won't be tolerated. You think about that the next time you're asked to do something."

I felt my anger intensify as I clenched my fists. Anne looked at Sarah, who was staring at her feet in shock.

"You four get downstairs. Bonnie is down there. Go!" He ordered. I turned my icy cold glare to him as we headed to the door that went back inside. I looked back to see Carver talking to Sarah. As the door closed and we took a few steps away from it, I felt my rage building inside of me. I ground my teeth as I looked back at the door. After a second, I finally let my rage out with the four simple words-

"**DAMN YOU TO HELL!"**

**That's chapter fourteen. I would like to thank I heart Lyoko for letting me use Patrick Hartnell and Verity Clinton. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Loss of a Friend, and Gaining a New One**

Anne had her arms wrapped around me as I started crying while the two of us, Verity, and Clem walked downstairs.

Reggie was… Carver had murdered him. And there was nothing I could do.

I looked at Anne. "What are we gonna tell Tess, Em, and Bec, baby?" I asked through sobs.

She started rubbing my back. "Shh. Shh. I'm here, baby. We'll be okay." She assured me.

We soon saw Bonnie, Emily, and Patrick were standing there with a woman with short brown hair holding buckets filled with nails and bolts. Anne and I recognized her as Shel, another of the guards of this hellhole Carver calls a community. She was also Becca's older sister.

Bonnie looked over her shoulder and noticed us.

"Oh, hey." She greeted as she stood up. Shel noticed us. "Chris and Anne? Haven't seen you two in a long time." She mused as she smiled.

"Yep." We said at the same time.

They handed us the three buckets. "So, they want you to guys to run some supplies out to the guys workin' on the expansion. Real simple, just take these over to 'em." Bonnie explained.

Emily smiled. "Those jackets look good on you guys." She commented. Bonnie smiled and crossed her arms. "I don't know what Tavia's talkin' about…" She said.

Clem looked down. Bonnie noticed and her smile faded. "What's wrong, guys?" She asked.

We were silent for a minute. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost." Shel said. I ran into Emily's arms.

"R-Reggie's dead, Emmy." I said tearfully. All four of them widened their eyes. "What? What are you talking about, man?" Patrick asked me.

"How? Was he-?" Emily asked.

"Murdered. By Carver." I replied.

"Maybe it was an accident." Patrick said, making Verity shake her head.

"It wasn't an accident. It was straight up murder." She said.

Emily joined me in crying. We then walked away.

* * *

**Anne's POV**

As Chris and Emily walked away, I felt terrible for the two of them. Reggie was dead. I figured out they were going to find Tess to break the news to her.

"Listen to me, girls. Just take this stuff over there and come back." Bonnie said quickly. "Just… be safe, OK? Now ain't the time to be callin' attention to yourselves."

"I've got to go find out what happened." Shel said.

"I'll go see if I can give Chris and Emily some comfort." Patrick said. I assumed he wanted to offer his condolences to Chris in order to earn his friendship.

Bonnie walked over to a door and opened it. Verity, Clem, and I stepped out the door, and we were outside. "Hey, Troy! Verity, Anne, and Clem's just gonna take some nails down to them boys!" She called up to Troy, who stood on the roof.

"Alright!" He called down. Bonnie then looked at us. "I'm gonna go try and find Chris and Emily. Go on." She whispered, then shut the door. I heard Verity gasp and looked over my shoulder. Reggie's corpse was just inches away from us.

I finally turned away, unable to take the sight. Verity gagged, which told me she wasn't used to seeing a corpse.

"Hey! That ain't your concern!" Troy snapped at us. "Get that stuff to them boys! Just follow the cables."

Like hell it's none of our concern! Reggie was my friend!

Growling under my breath, we followed the cables. We stopped and looked at a makeshift wall, which had walkers pounding on the other side.

"I'm not comfortable being so close to those things." Verity admitted.

"Nobody is…" I told her before we stepped into an abandoned store.

"I ain't nobody's laborer! Fuck that!"

Now what?

"Boys, please." A female voice spoke up.

I turned my head to see my mom trying to separate Kenny and Mike, the guy from last night.

"No, Evonne! Let 'em do this shit themselves if it's so goddamn important!" Kenny barked as he held Mike against the wall.

"Get your fuckin' hands off me!" Mike snapped.

"You ain't gonna force me to do this bullshit!" Kenny growled.

"I said get your hands off of me!" Mike repeated.

"Or what? You gonna tell on me?"

"I'm trying to help you, asshole."

"Boys, please stop." My mom pleaded.

We dropped our stuff and ran to them. "Hey, you two! Knock it off!" Verity snapped. I looked at my mom. "Mom, what's going on here?!" I asked. "Why are you guys fighting?!" Clementine asked.

"This sonuvabitch keeps testing me!" Kenny replied.

"Hey, I just want to get this work done!" Mike shot back.

"We all do, Mike. But we can do it without being at each other's throats." Mom said.

Suddenly, a board blocking the window slid down because of the fight, revealing walkers pounding on the glass.

Aw shit…

The walkers pounded on the glass one more time, and the window shattered, and the walkers started pouring in.

"OH SHIT!" Verity shouted as we all backed away from the window. "Grab something!" Kenny yelled as he grabbed two hammers and handed one to my mom. Clem grabbed a plank of wood, but I looked away when I saw two walkers coming for me and Verity. I looked at her and smirked.

"How about we show these two lame-brains some girl power?" I asked, and she smirked. "I'm on board." She said, then grabbed a crowbar while I grabbed a screwdriver.

"Okay, Anne. I'll take the one on the left! You take the one of the right!" She said, and I nodded.

She swung the blunt end of the crowbar at her target, while I moved to the left and then stabbed the walker in the head. I then looked at Verity to see her swing twice at her walker. On the third swing, the walker died.

I turned my head to the right and saw a third walker coming towards me.

SHIT!

I picked up a hammer and slammed the claw end into the walker's head. I slammed it into its skull again and then it died.

WAY too close.

"Where's Clementine?" Kenny asked as my mom killed the last walker in the room.

All of a sudden, Troy stepped out of the back room with Clementine behind him. "Making me save your ass…" He grumbled.

Kenny sighed with relief. "Oh, thank God you're okay!"

Troy rolled his eyes. "Alright, enough mushy shit! You get back inside right fuckin' now! I'm sure they've got shit for you to do." He snapped at Verity, Clementine, and I. "Now! You think I'm fucking around?! Now I gotta sit here and babysit you assholes! Can't do a simple fuckin' patch job without me crackin' the whip?!"

I glared at him as Verity and I stepped out first.

"Man, I hate that prick so much..." Verity muttered.

"You and me both..."

She looked at me and smirked. "I gotta say… you handled those walkers pretty damn good."

"… You weren't too bad yourself."

* * *

Verity and I walked down a hall, with her telling me she'd ask Patrick if he would like to go out with her, when someone drew our attention.

"ANNE!"

I turned around and saw Chris, Emily, and Tess running to us.

"I heard what happened to Reggie. How did it happen? Is he-?" Tess asked.

"Murdered. By Carver. He pushed Reggie off the roof." I replied.

"Oh my God…" She said, then embraced me.

I rubbed her back soothingly and closed my eye sadly. Reggie was good friends with Chris, Tess, and Emily.

Tess pulled away from me and sniffled. "C-Come on… we have to get back to the yard..."

I sighed and nodded before the five of us walked back to the yard, with me holding Chris's hand.

* * *

We sat around the campfire as we ate our dinner.

"So, he just pushed him off the roof?!" Chase asked.

Chris took a bite of beans and nodded sadly. "That fuckin' monster…" Chase growled.

Chris looked at Tess and Emily. "I tried all I could to stop him, Tessie." He said, earning a nod from Tess.

"I know you did, little bro." She said.

Bec shed a few tears, hearing that Reggie was dead.

I closed my eye. I'd never hear him call me 'Raggedy Anne' again.

"He was the one who started calling me 'Raggedy Anne'…" I muttered. "I miss him already…"

Chris placed his hand on my shoulder and I rested my head on his shoulder.

We were silent for a few minutes. After that, Chris, Tess, and Emily walked to a corner, while my mom saw my guitar.

"I didn't know you could play, baby." She said and I blushed.

"Y-Yeah, I can." I admitted.

"Why don't you let us hear something?" Sarah asked.

I nodded, placed my guitar on my lap, closed my eye and strummed my guitar and started singing Don't You Worry Child.

* * *

**Chris's POV**

As Anne was singing, Tess, Emily, and I did a little reconnecting.

I sighed. "You guys remember that camping trip Dad took us on?" I asked.

They nodded. "Yeah." Tess said.

"I remember you caught my fish." Emily said, and I looked at her.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault you thought the salmon was on your line." I defended.

"I also remember we got a little booze in us." Tess said.

I nodded. "Yeah. One of the few times he was okay with us drinking." I said.

Suddenly, everyone gathered back by the campfire, making us walk over to them.

Anne saw us coming and ushered me to sit beside her.

"What's going on, y'all?" I asked.

"Kenny's proposing we make a lotta sound to draw that herd to us and use it to escape." Evonne replied.

Tess, Emily, and I went wide eyed. "Another suicidal plan?" I asked.

"Look, we all know what happened this morning! I don't know what that sonuvabitch is gonna do next!" Kenny said.

I gritted my teeth. He'll die before he can do what he's gonna do next!

Anne sensed my anger building and put an arm around my shoulder, calming me down.

"So you wanna ring the dinner bell for a herd of walkers to show up? How good is that?" Mike asked.

"I'm with Mike on this one, y'all." Jennifer said, voicing my thoughts.

Chase nodded. "Kenny, I gotta say that that is the worst plan I've ever heard of…"

"This place'll be chaos when that thing hits! No one will be paying attention to us. And that's when we go. That's our opening! We just gotta figure out a way to draw 'em to us." Kenny said as Clem sat down. Bec looked at her. "Your friend here wants to get us killed by a herd of lurkers before Bill can do it." She sighed. Kenny frowned and looked at her. "What is it with you?"

"That's what it sounds like to me." She shrugged.

"You know that's not what he's saying, but… it does sound dangerous." Sarita said.

"This shit is all dangerous!" Kenny snapped.

"Kenny! Do not speak to me like that." Sarita scolded.

"Sorry…"

"Maybe Luke could help us." Clem chimed in. "He's outside. He wants a remote to help keep an eye on the guards."

I nodded. "I'm with that plan."

Clementine rose an eyebrow. "You guys know about Luke?"

Anne nodded. "Yeah. He flagged us down not too long ago and told us his plan. He mentioned he talked to you." She confirmed.

"If Luke can tell us what's going on with the guards, we can use that as a good time to escape." Verity said. "That sounds reasonable." Sarita agreed.

"Who know when that'll be." Kenny sighed. "There was a girl back at Crawford that used bells to send walkers all over the city. We just need something really loud." He said.

"Well, the PA system that Dad uses is pretty loud." I pointed out.

"There's some speakers outside the building… pointed towards the parking lot." Mike explained. "I saw 'em when we were walking out to the work. Troy's always standing next one of them. There are a few of 'em on the roof."

I nodded in agreement. "Tess, Emily, and I noticed them every time we came back from a supply run." I pointed out, looking at my half-sisters to see them nod.

"I saw the controls… they're in Carver's office." Clementine explained.

"She's right." Emily muttered.

"It's all controlled from Bill's office. There's a switch that'll turn it on." Bec explained.

"How do you know that?" Rebecce asked.

I sighed. "Bec and Tess used to help make announcements back then." I explained, earning a nod from Tess. "I had it flipped on once… luckily there wasn't much around at the time to hear it, but it was plenty loud though…" Bec remembered.

Kenny smiled. "That's perfect! We just gotta get into his office! Why didn't you say something like that sooner?"

"Cause it doesn't change anything. This ain't a discussion about how to do it, it's a discussion about whether it's stupid. And it's still stupid. The best thing to do is get Luke the radio and wait for an opening." I said.

Kenny looked at me and sighed. "You're real difficult to deal with sometimes…"

"Kenny…" Sarita said.

I shook my head. "No, that's alright, you ain't exactly a peach either."

"Luke's in no shape to help us. You wanna put our faith in THAT guy's hands? It's not happening."

Anne leaned towards my ear. "Luke DID look tired last time we saw him." She whispered.

"We should get Luke a radio." Clementine said. "If we do, he can tell us what's going on and find us a way to get out."

"OK, I can go with that." Kenny agreed. "So we get that turd a radio, he keeps us posted on the walkers and the guards. We fire up the PA thing and bring the walkers to roll over this place." He planned.

"And then what? What do you plan to do next?" Anne asked, voicing my thoughts.

"Get some guns and shoot our way out. I don't know, whatever we can! We improvise." Kenny told her.

"That's not a plan." Mike disagreed, earning a nod from me. "Mike's right. You don't plan to improvise." I said.

Bec looked at Kenny. "I've figured out what your problem is. You don't think stuff through. If the end of the plan is just to stroll through a herd of walkers, then you should know from the jump that there's no way it's gonna work."

"Actually…" A woman piped up, more specifically, the woman from earlier. She then started walking towards us. "I do it all the time."

I looked at her shocked. How in God's name is this chick still alive?!

"Now that is fucked up." Anne said.

Mike and I nodded in agreement. "First words I ever hear you say, and it's some crazy stupid shit." Mike said.

"Hush." Sarita whispered before she looked back up at the girl. "What do you mean exactly?"

"When you cover yourself in their smell… rub the walker guts all over you… they can't tell you apart from one of them." The girl explained. We all went wide eyed at this news.

"I don't know who's crazier now... you, or my twerp of a half-brother, who decimates herds of walkers to calm down." Tess said. I glared at her. "You, Anne, and Emily know I have a bad temper." I reminded her.

"Trust me, I've walked through herds before. It works. You just have to stay calm and make sure your good and covered." The girl said.

"How the hell do you stay calm when there's a herd of walking corpses around you that want to eat your flesh?!" Anne asked. "I'm with my girlfriend on that." I said.

"You seem to know what you're talking about…" Sarita observed.

"Lee figured that out." Clem chimed in.

I rose an eyebrow. Wasn't Lee the guy that looked after Clem when hell broke loose?

"What?" Kenny gasped.

"What do you mean, Clementine?" I asked curiously.

"It's how we got out of the Marsh House after he saved me. Lee covered me and we walked right through the herd." She said.

"Holy shit. Good one, Lee…" Kenny said with a smile.

"He must've been one smart guy." Anne said. Clem smiled slightly and nodded. "He was…"

Kenny stood up. "Alright! What're we waiting for? Let's get that stupid radio!"

"We still need a way to get into the stock room." Bec pointed out.

The girl nodded. "I got a plan for that, too. Come on, kid. Gonna need your help. You too, Sunglasses. And while we're at it, Bandana can help as well." She said as she walked past us. Kenny looked at the group. "Where the hell'd she come from?" He asked.

I growled at the nickname she gave me. I looked at Anne and saw her frown slightly.

"We have names, you know…" She grumbled.

The girl smirked. "Oh yeah? What are they?"

"Anne." She replied. "And this is my boyfriend, Chris." I nodded.

The girl smirked again and nodded. "Jane." She replied as the four of us reached the wall and looked up at the winch. "We just need to use the winch… they can just climb up from there. Then just drop into one of the skylights over the stockroom." Jane told us as she turned to me, Anne, and Clem. "There are shelves and stuff for you to land on, so… you probably won't fall to your death." She shrugged as the others approached.

"Great…" Clem said flatly.

Bec looked up at the winch. "That thing breaks all the time. Unless something's changed, it won't support much weight, let alone the weight of three people." She told us.

"Come on. Up and at 'em." Kenny said to Clem.

"Don't push them, Kenny…" Sarita warned.

"Thank you, Sarita." I said, seeing as I remembered I was a little scared of heights.

"They're our best bet. I mean that, you three." He told us.

I sighed and nodded. Anne nodded as well.

"Now or never, I guess." Clem said.

Kenny smiled. "That's my girl."

Verity stepped over to me. "Chris, please. Let Chase, Dylan, or Patrick do it. I don't want you to get hurt." She told me. I then remembered she always was worried about me.

"I'll be fine, Ver. Besides, Anne and I know the exact same skylight that leads to the stockroom. And we know how to be cunning." I reminded her. She just nodded. "O-OK… just be careful." She told me.

"I thought you two said you hated heights…?" Tess brought up. I glared at her while Anne looked at the winch. "It's not that high up…" She said slowly, then looked at her. "Watch my guitar for me, OK?" She asked my half-sister.

She smiled and nodded. "Be careful, you guys."

I nodded. "We will, Tessie." I said.

"We gotta get that rope down." Kenny said, then looked to Mike. "Mike, you wanna boost her up?"

He nodded. "Sure. Come on, kid." He said to Clem as he walked over to the winch.

"Don't let go." Clementine told him as he picked her up.

"I got you." He assured her. Anne and I watched her as she pulled the rope down. Once the hook hit the ground, Mike set her down.

"Okay, big guy. Here's what I'm thinking: You toss me to the winch and pull the girls up." I said, and he nodded. He then got into position and interlaced his fingers. As soon as I placed my foot in his hands, I felt myself lifted into the air, and grabbed the bottom step and started climbing.

I looked down and saw Clem and Anne place their feet on the hook and Mike then started lifting them up.

"Try to hurry, alright?" He requested. "I don't think they're the sharpest guards in the world, but they're no idiots either. They see that you three are not in your bunk, we're done for."

He ain't wrong… We'll have to be quick.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard. Shit, that's gotta be Troy…

Mike's eyes widened as he heard the footsteps. "Shit, he's coming back!" He said before looking at the girls. "I gotta let you go. I can't stay here! Grab something!"

Anne and Clem grabbed the ladder and held on tightly. I looked down at them. "Let's make this quick." I whispered and they nodded in agreement. As we climbed over the fence, I looked out beyond the wall.

Jesus Christ…

There had to be at least a thousand walkers out there! They kept kicking up dust, but I knew there were a lot of them.

I then said the first that came to my mind-

"We are so fucked up."

**That's chapter fifteen. I'm so sorry it took me a long time to update this story. Schoolwork is being a pain in my ass. Anyway, y'all know the procedure.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: The Plan and a Secret**

**Anne's POV**

Chris climbed up to the roof, then helped Clementine up, and then me. I looked and saw a guard standing not far from us.

"Stay low, girls." Chris told us, earning nods from the two of us. As we kept moving, I heard the guard talking.

"Man, you're not gonna believe what I'm looking at." He said into a radio. "There's gotta be at least two or three thousand of 'em out there."

The three of us hustled over to the greenhouse and hid behind it while he was busy.

_"In the parking lot?"_

"No, not in the parking lot. I can't see them all, but… I see the dust they're kicking up.

I rushed to a skylight near where the guard stood. I could see Carver sitting in his office.

That motherfucker has the nerve to sit there like he's a king after what happened this morning?!

I looked at my boyfriend to see him glaring at Carver with so much hatred, it seemed that there could've been fire in them.

"You think we're ready this time?"

_"I don't know… Bill thinks we are."_

"Course he does, but that's what he thought last time."

Wait a minute. A herd hit while the two of us were away?

_"We learned a lot since last time."_

"Is it enough, though?"

_"We'll find out if they turn this way."_

Heh, asshole can't take his attention away from the herd.

I quickly went back over to the greenhouse and hid behind it with my boyfriend and Clementine.

"Did that lead to the stockroom?" She asked, barely audible. Chris shook his head. "No, it led to Carver's office." He replied.

We looked at the skylight near us and rushed over to it. Chris smirked when he peered inside.

"This is it." He whispered. He then lifted the door up and let us climb through with him coming in last and closing it. He landed on a box next to us before we crouched. I looked down and saw Tavia sitting in a chair. Next to her is a table with radios.

Damn it! This just got harder.

She then stood up and walked away from the table.

_"It's crazy about Reggie, huh?"_

"Yeah."

_"You think Bill…"_

"Go on."

Chris, Clem and I slowly crawled down the shelves.

"Spit it out, Hank." Tavia said, clearly getting frustrated.

_"I don't think Bill was gonna let him back in."_

"You don't?"

_"No. Do you?"_

"I don't know…" Tavia sighed. "So really, no bullshit. You think we're ready?"

We made it to the end of the shelf and began climbing down pallets.

_"I think so. The homestead, at least. I'm not sure about the 'expansion'. They're out there, just moaning…"_

Chris reached the floor first. He then helped Clementine to the floor, and then he helped me down to the floor.

Chris looked at Clem and placed a finger to his lips as we crouched behind boxes.

"… I'll give you that one."

_"So, what are you doing tomorrow?"_

"Bill wants me to start getting this bay door fixed." Tavia replied as she walked a few feet away.

We've got our chance! Chris nodded at Clem and she rushed over to the table with the radios.

_"What happened to it this time?"_

Tavia sighed. "Troy backed into it when we brought the prisoners- the new people in."

Chris and I knew she meant us…

_"See? It's hard not to call them prisoners."_

"Bill's three kids were among them." Tavia explained. "All of them are out in the yard. And Anne, that girl with the bandana, was with them, too."

_"The rebel? I kinda figured she took off with Chris."_

"Chris was pretty mad about what happened to Coleen…"

_"I don't understand why. She wasn't his full mother. But I don't understand why Anne ran away."_

I frowned. I ran away because I saw Carver for what he really was! I wasn't gonna let the boy I love go off on his own.

"Well, she likes Chris. From what I heard, those two are together now."

_"Wow. That's something I didn't expect."_

Chris looked at me, smirked, and quietly planted a kiss on my cheek, resulting in me blushing.

"Hank, it was plain as day how much those two liked each other."

Clem slowly reached for the radios with me and my boyfriend watching anxiously. Tavia kept talking with Hank while walking around.

Don't look this way, please…

Tavia then walked away as Clementine slowly took two radios from the table.

Hell yeah!

Now that that's done, we gotta get the hell out of here!

Clem quickly came back over to us. She handed me a radio and Chris the other. We stuffed them in the pockets of our jackets and we began climbing back up the shelves quickly. As we made our way to the top, Chris let out a quiet gasp. I looked to see Tavia smoking, and prayed she wouldn't look up and spot us.

"You can't be smoking back here!"

The three of us froze when we saw a man approaching Tavia. It was Vince, another guard here at the community.

"If Bill catches a whiff of smoke, he'll flip!" Vince added. "You know what? I'm not gonna it up this time. I'm telling." He said, then started walking away. Tavia quickly put out the cigarette. "Vince, wait. Come on. Vince!" She called as she ran after him.

That was close!

We quickly climbed back to the skylight and climbed through it, finding ourselves on the roof again. Chris closed the door as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Talk about a close call, huh, guys?" I whispered. "Damn straight." Chris whispered while Clem nodded her head. Then we worked our way quickly back to the ladder leading back to the yard. Chris climbed down first, followed by me, then Clementine.

Chris and I looked and not to think about how high up we were. We then saw Tess and Mike leaning against the wall, with their arms crossed, observing the door.

"Psst! Tess!" Chris called, gaining her attention as well as Mike's.

"You get 'em?" Tess asked.

The three of us nodded our heads. "Okay. Jump down. I'll catch you guys." Tess said. Chris jumped down first and Tess caught him. I went next and Tess caught me, too. Clementine jumped last and Tess caught her.

"Nice catch, Tessie." Chris praised. "We best get to bed. Troy'll be back any minute." Mike whispered. We all nodded and hurried back to the bunks. Kenny, Emily, Verity, and Dylan sat up.

"You two okay?" Verity asked, earning nods from me and my boyfriend.

"Well?" Kenny asked. I smirked as Chris and I pulled the radios out of our pockets and showed them to him. "We got 'em!"

He smiled. "You sneaky little devils."

"Thanks, Kenny. One tries." My boyfriend said, and I stifled a giggle, but smirked at Kenny's remark as we headed to bed.

"Okay, everyone, stay where you are. No need drawin' suspicion." Kenny said.

"That was so cool." Sarah whispered as we laid in our beds.

"Thank you, guys." Kenny thanked.

After Chris handed Kenny the radio, we heard Jane speak up. "I told ya you probably wouldn't die. Nice job."

"Thanks." Clem said.

Jane smiled. "Yep. Anyway, get some rest."

I nuzzled into Chris's strong chest and closed my eye.

"You know, baby…"

I opened my eye at the sound of my boyfriend's voice. "Yeah?"

"While we were up there, I was praying we would be alright. And now we are. I'm glad we are."

I smiled. "Me too."

He sighed. "We've got a long day tomorrow. Better get some sleep."

"Yeah." I muttered, then nuzzled into Chris's chest again.

"Night, Anne."

"Night, Chris."

We both then fell asleep, knowing it would be a long day tomorrow.

* * *

/The Next Morning\

**Chris's POV**

I woke up to a flurry of brown on my chest. I smiled and kissed Anne's forehead as she slept.

"I love you." I soothed as I saw her eye flutter open.

"Mornig, beautiful." I said, making her smile.

"Morning, handsome." She said to me.

We then walked to a table where the radio I handed Kenny was for a meeting.

"Alright, we're all here." Kenny said.

"Someone's gotta get the radio to Luke. What's the problem?" Bec asked.

"We should probably find out who's doin' what before we-"

Kenny was cut off by the door opening. Damn it…

Kenny quickly hid the radio behind his back as Tavia, Shel, and a few more guards stepped in.

"Time to get up." Tavia said.

I scoffed. We're already up, bitch.

"Daylight's burnin'. They let you sleep in, all things considered."

I leaned to Anne's ear. "How considerate of them." I muttered sarcastically.

Sarah looked around. "Where's my Dad?" She asked. That's a good question. Where IS Carlos?

"He's where the rest of you are headed. To work." She said harshly. I looked at Anne to see a frown on her face. "Bec, Nick, Sarah, Chris,, Verity, Jane, Tess… if you gotta take a piss, do it now. Next break won't be for a while. Troy'll be comin' back for the rest of you."

"Hold on, why just them?" Anne asked.

"Like I said… Troy's comin' for the rest of you." She replied before she and those of us she mentioned left with her. I looked at Tess to see something was bothering her. I walked over to her.

"What's wrong, Tess?" I asked her.

"I- I slept with Luke." She whispered, and I was shocked.

"When?"

"The night after Nick and I... you know." She replied.

"Why?"

"I was drunk. Luke was, too."

"Tell me you didn't…" I trailed off.

"We did."

"So, now you don't know who the father of your baby is, do you?"

She shook her head.

I sighed and walked over to walk with Verity.

**That's chapter sixteen. The next chapter will pick back up in the yard with the rest of the group deciding about the radio deliverer. Y'all know the procedure.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: We're Leaving Tonight**

**Anne's POV**

Emily stood next to me, sensing I was worried about my boyfriend, and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"He'll be fine, Anne." She assured me.

"Thanks, Emily." I said.

"Alright, guys, look. If we're gonna do somethin', we have to do it NOW, and if Luke's all we got, then we pair up with him." Kenny said.

"I can do it. Where's the meetin'?" Mike asked.

"Mike."

"Yeah?"

"Clementine should do it."

Mike's eyes widened. "Are you fuckin' kidding?"

We all froze when we heard something clattering. We looked and saw Hank walk past the door.

"No offense, but- come on, that's crazy, she's a kid, why would-"

"There's a million reasons." Kenny shot back.

I nodded. "She knows Luke, she can hide, and if she can get a pair of radios, then she can get to the meeting place." I said.

"Who cares?! It's dangerous!"

"And I'm sorry, Mike, but I don't know you from fuckin' Adam. And if I'm trustin' anyone to do somethin' this important, I'm trustin' her."

"You don't trust me to get a radio to someone?" Mike asked.

Chase groaned. "For God's sake, give ME the damn thing. I'll take it to him!"

"I'll take it." Clementine said.

Seems she's willing to do it.

Mike looked at her. "Don't think doing this is gonna earn respect…"

"She doesn't need your respect." Kenny snapped.

"Gimme the radio."

Just then, the door opened up again and Troy walked in. "Alright, little chickens… let's get to peckin'. And don't think today's gonna be like yesterday. No way. No shenanigans. This rooster's gonna be surveilling your ass every second of the day. Got it?"

None of us responded, making him frown. "I'm afraid I need an answer, girl." He told Clem.

I rolled my eye. We ain't deaf, douchebag.

Clem looked down. "Whatever."

I smirked. I like this kid's bravery.

I then glared at Troy's back as he turned around. "Come on." He ordered. We started walking when Kenny stopped in front of Clem. "Oh, you have your pockets all out." He said in a casual tone.

I realized he hid the radio in her pocket. Nice call, Kenny…

"Gonna get your tags snagged on somethin'. Wouldn't want that, now, would we?" He casually asked. Troy glared at him. Kenny simply shrugged. Troy sneered. "Come on!" He snapped.

God, this prick is already pissin' me off…

He led us towards a door leading to the 'expansion', when we heard someone call, "Hey. She's with me."

We paused and saw Bonnie and my boyfriend walking towards us. "Ah, shit, I almost forgot." Troy said before shoving Clem forward. "Well, take her. I don't care."

"Hey, asshole!" Chris snapped. "Don't treat her like that!"

"You got a big ass mouth, boy!" Troy said.

"Shut up, Troy, alright? I've had a helluva day already. Don't make me angrier than I already am." He threatened.

"Wait, what's goin' on?" Kenny asked.

"Just chores of a different sort. Come on, city mouse." Bonnie said to Clementine before looking at me. "Anne's with me, too."

Troy then shoved me forward. "Take her. I don't give a shit."

I growled under my breath. You don't give a shit about anything…

"Can't you cut her a break?" Kenny asked. "She'd really rather keep with us… people she knows."

"It's nothing that'll hurt her." Bonnie assured him.

"Won't they need my help?" Clem asked, looking back at the others. "Well, I need it more." Bonnie said. I walked over to my boyfriend and locked my hand with his, but he pulled it away.

Something's not right…

"Babe, are you alright?" I whispered.

"A little frustrated sounds more like it." He whispered back.

"What is it?"

He sighed. "Tess told me she slept with Luke."

My eye widened. "W-What?!" I hissed.

He nodded. "They were drunk on top of it."

"Oh, please tell me they didn't have sex."

He remained silent, which told me they did.

Shel walked over to Bonnie. "Bonnie. Anne's with me." She said.

I sighed and reluctantly walked away with her.

* * *

**Chris's POV**

I watched as Shel and Anne walked away. I got pulled out of my thoughts by Bonnie. "Come on, you two."

The three of us kept walking. "I just wanted to make sure y'all were alright. Shel's doin' the same for Anne and Verity… I didn't believe y'all… when you told us about Reggie… Once we left y'all, Shel and I went to find Bill. Thought if he had done it, he'd make up an excuse, but…"

I looked at her. "But what?"

"Bill was so matter-of-fact about it… like he'd pulled a weed out of the ground or somethin'… like it had to be done… That was one of those moments where your blood runs cold… goose pimples up and down your arm… because it turns out the person you thought you knew, was never there."

I clenched my fists when she finished talking. The man who was my father was NEVER there for me…

Bonnie looked at Clementine, then at me after I calmed down. "You two seem anxious, guys." She said, then saw a couple of the guards walking past us, so she led us into the armory. "You both know you can talk to me, right?"

"Luke is waiting for us." Clem said as she held out the radio. "He wants us to get this radio to him."

Bonnie's eyes widened. "And all we need from you, Bon, is to not worry about where we are for fifteen minutes." I added.

Bonnie glared at us both. "If y'all get caught and mention my name, Carver will be the least of your problems." She warned us.

"Okay." I said.

"Go, and be careful." She said.

Clem and I then took off. We made to the door that led to the 'expansion', then stopped. I looked to the right and saw Russell, another guard here at camp. He stood up straight and looked at us.

"Y'all should get goin'. Bill don't like idle hands." He told us.

I inwardly scoffed. Then what the hell are you standing around for, asshole?

Clem and I then walked out of the camp and started walking to the expansion when… "Hey, Chris! Hold up!" I heard someone shout.

I turned to the door and saw two girls, one with curly blonde hair, green eyes, slightly tanned skin, denim jacket over a white shirt, blue jeans, boots, and glasses, and the other with wavy red hair, a pink tank top, blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a heart shaped bracelet looking at us while holding hands.

It was Kate and Ashley, two girls that used to bully me, but stopped after I got out of the hospital. Kate and I even dated for two months. And she and Ashley have been a couple for two years now.

"Katie, Ash, I really don't have time to catch up on what's been happening here." I said.

"Relax. We just need to ask you something, then you can get back to your date with your girlfriend here." Ashley joked.

Clementine frowned. "I'm eleven, thank you." She said. "Besides, I'm with Anne." I added.

"Sorry." Ashley said.

"We heard about Reggie… What happened? We heard you two, Anne, Sarah, and Verity were there when it happened…" Kate said.

"My fucker of a father pushed him off the roof… he killed Reggie." I replied.

They both gasped. "What?!" Ashley asked.

I nodded. "It's true. He pushed him right off the roof… just because he failed to do something right…"

Kate fell into my arms sobbing. Reggie was also good friends with her and Ashley. "A-Are you sure h-he didn't do it on accident?" She asked me.

"He grabbed Reggie and threw him straight off the roof, Kate. I tried to stop him, but he pushed me to the ground." I told her.

She pulled away from me and sniffled. "W-We'll let you guys get back to work." She said, then she and Ashley walked back inside.

Clementine and I then walked to the comic book store. "Y'all better hurry that shit up. I hate babysitting you assholes…" Troy grumbled.

I rolled my eyes behind my sunglasses. You hate babysitting anyone, you piece of shit.

"Come on." I whispered to Clem, who nodded. We quietly walked into the comic book store.

"Luke?" I called, but got no response.

"Let's look around." Clem suggested, and I nodded.

Clem walked over to a blood stain. "That looks pretty old… he's probably fine…" She muttered. I walked over to bedding.

"Was he sleeping here?" I thought aloud when we heard the door open. We looked and saw it was Troy.

"I swear to Christ you two are gonna regret this!" He said.

"Fuck o-" I started, but he punched me in the stomach, then smacked Clementine across the mouth. "You ain't supposed to be out here!" He snarled then grabbed Clem by the collar of her jacket and roughly grabbed my arm.

He dragged us over to Kenny and Mike. "You people have been here one fuckin' day and already you're fuckin' up. Well, you wait and see what happens!" He growled as he shoved us towards them. "MOVE!"

"Hey!" Kenny snapped when I calmly grabbed his arm. "Save it, Kenny! Come on. Let's go." I said.

Troy forced us back to the yard where the others gathered. I walked over to Anne, who was standing next to her mother.

"-and how is it we're repaid for our trust?" With treachery…? With deceit… With theft!" Carver growled as he glared at the rest of us.

"Did you know about this?" Clem asked Kenny, who slowly shook his head.

Carver then held up the other radio. My eyes widened as he smirked in victory. "Whatever you were all planning is over. You can't just run from your problems. You can't just up and leave when it gets tough… cause there's nowhere else to go where it ain't. Tough is all we got now. Get that through your fuckin' skulls."

He then walked over to me, Tess, and Emily, who walked over to me and Anne.

"And you especially don't run away from your family." He directed at me, Tess, and Emily.

"Fuck you!" I spat out.

"Now, is that any way to talk to your father, Christopher?" He asked me with a smirk. "YOU WERE NEVER MY FATHER!" I snapped.

He didn't even flinch. He then turned to Anne. "And Anne… you don't just run away just because of something that had to be done."

She snarled. "There was a chance for Coleen! And you never gave it to her!"

Carver shook his head. "She was a liability to the community. She had to be eliminated… just like Reggie. He was weak. His incompetence wouldn't be tolerated anymore. He tried my patience too many times, and he paid the price."

THAT DOES IT!

"YOU FUCKIN' BASTARD!" I shouted and charged at him, only for him to backhand me. I hissed in pain, but still stood on my feet.

Asshole may hit hard, but he's done worse to me.

He walked back to the wall. "Luke here, he can't help you now… you gotta help yourselves… you gotta help me find the strength to forgive you."

I scoffed. "You're one to talk about forgiveness…" I muttered.

"YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKIN' MOUTH, BOY!" Troy shouted at me.

I simply rose my middle finger at him.

Carver continued talking, ignoring me and Troy. "Now you can start… by telling me where the other one is. I'm gonna count to three… if that radio ain't in my hand by then… we'll have to make things more difficult."

We all stayed silent as he started counting.

"One…"

He can't get the other radio!

"Two…"

We tensed as he paused. "I found-" Clem started, but Kenny cut her off by reaching into her pocket, stepping in front of her, and waving the radio above his head.

"It's right here! I've got it!"

Kenny?!

Carver frowned and held his hand out expectantly. Kenny stepped forward and gave Sarita a comforting glance. "It's alright." He whispered as he walked up to Carver. "Sorry about that. Not sure what I was thinking."

As soon as the radio landed in Carver's hand…

"Three."

I gulped.

"… heh. Fucker." Kenny muttered. Carver then hit him in the face with the radio, knocking him to the ground.

"No!" Sarita cried.

Carver then started to beat Kenny, drawing blood from each hit, causing my rage to build.

"Stop him! Someone stop him!" Sarita pleaded as she rushed forward, but Carlos and Anne held her back.

"Troy! Do something!" Mike exclaimed, but the latter only stood there with a smirk on his face. I stormed over to Troy, punched him square in the face as Clem helped Carlos and Anne restrain Sarita. Troy retaliated by hitting me in the face with the butt of his rifle, sending me straight to the ground.

"You little shit!" He said to me.

"Bill!" Bonnie called. "That's enough, Bill! Please!" She said, but Carver kept hitting him.

"Bill, there's a breach!" Shel said. Carver hit Kenny one more time, then let him fall to the floor, bruised. Anne rushed over to me.

"Babe, are you okay?!" She asked me as Tess and Emily came over to me.

"I'll live." I said.

"Alright. Everyone come with me. Bonnie, Shel, you two stick around. Make sure these people don't get into any more trouble." Carver ordered as he dropped the bloodied radio and walked out with Troy and Tavia.

"Yeah… okay." Bonnie muttered while Shel looked at Kenny with shock evident on her face.

"No supper for y'all tonight. Maybe an empty stomach will change your perspective. We'll try this again tomorrow. Ashley, Kate, let's go." He told them, but they refused.

"No." They both said.

"Let's. Go. Now." He said, more forcefully.

"We're not going anywhere." Kate said.

"Fine! You two will go without supper too, then." He snapped as he, Troy, and Tavia left. Bonnie walked over to Kenny while Shel walked to me. "Do your best with him, Carlos. You need to get him able to move, 'cause we're leaving tonight."

Everyone looked at Bonnie and Shel with surprise.

Bonnie looked at everyone with a determined expression and nodded.

"We're leaving tonight."

**That's chapter seventeen. I apologize it took a long time to get this chapter ready. Schoolwork is being a pain in my ass. Anyway, y'all know what to do.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Lambs to the Slaughter**

**Chris's POV**

I hissed in pain as Shel placed an icepack on the spot where Troy hit me.

"Jesus." I seethed.

"He got you good." Shel said.

"Yeah, he did."

Becca had come into the yard after Carver, Troy, and Tavia left. "I still can't believe Carver smacked you like that. Not even my dad would've done that." She told me, while I scoffed.

"Trust me when I tell you my father's done worse to me." I told her.

"Get some rest, Chris." Shel gently told me, and I nodded.

"I'll stay with him, Shel." Anne said, and I nodded, accepting her offer. She crawled into the bed with me.

I fell asleep. Anne had rested her head on my chest and also fell asleep.

/Later That Night\

I woke up to see Anne and Clem were over with Carlos, Mike and Luke with Shel and Bonnie, who were on the other side of the door, Becca and Jane over by the fence, and everyone else was around the fire.

"Ugh. Damn…" I muttered when I touched where Troy hit me, then stood up and walked over to Evonne. She looked at me and smiled.

"About fuckin' time you woke up." She joked.

"Thanks." I said as Anne walked over to me. I looked at her to see her looking at the spot where Troy hit me.

"Geez." She said simply.

"That bad, huh?" I asked.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around me, sniffling.

"It's okay, Annie. I'll be fine." I told her.

"I still can't believe your dad smacked you like that." Dylan said to me.

"Please, man. That piece of shit may hit hard as hell, but he's done worse to me." I scoffed.

Mike and Luke walked back over to us.

"What'd they say?" Bec asked.

"They said they can get us out of here if we can get the PA system going. Second they hear it, they'll run over and spring us." Mike said.

Bec smiled a little. "That's great."

"It's not great." Luke objected.

"What're you sayin', man? We can't stay here." I said.

Luke sighed. "Look, I know part of this is my fault… I was hungry, I got reckless tryin' to steal some food and I got caught."

Well, now we know how he got caught…

"We can't stay here!" Clem said.

"Exactly. We don't know how long Alvin's got before Bill just kills him. We have to leave now." Bec agreed.

Anne nodded. "Look at what he did to Kenny! We could be next!" She added.

I clenched both my fists as well as my teeth in anger. He will NOT get that chance!

"Look, I hear what y'all are saying, but it's risky."

The hell it is! It's risky if we stay here!

"It is pretty damn risky, guys." Nick said.

"Risky? You saw what he did to Kenny! I refuse to be next on that bastard I called a father's list." Tess said. "Look, the plan works. Nothing needs to change. It's all set up. The hard part is done. This guy's fucking crazy. Who knows what he'll do next." Mike agreed.

"He might aim at one of us next time, or worse…" Anne said.

"Yeah, but now we're dealing with a guy beat to shit, Sarita in no shape to do anything, Chris got smacked by both Carver and Troy, and I'm a goddamn mess." Luke said. He's right, he IS in pretty bad shape.

"Look, we should rest up, okay? We should bide our time, and we should wait for an opening." Luke said.

Is he being fuckin' serious?!

"Bonnie and Shel are agreeing to help us tonight." Mike said.

"And that doesn't mean they can't do it some OTHER night."

Nick sighed. "I don't know, guys… Luke's makin' sense. Maybe we should wait." He shrugged.

"We are NOT waiting." Tess insisted.

"Ain't nothin' out there, guys. Trust me, I've looked. There's no food, no supplies. They've picked everything clean. I'm just saying we gotta be sensible about this." Luke said.

"Dammit, Luke, this IS being sensible!" I snapped.

Clementine remained silent.

Carlos walked over to us. Sarita looked at him, as did we all, but she was still sobbing.

"This is what I'm talkin' about. We're in no shape to do anything right now…" Luke pointed out.

"How is he?" Anne asked.

Carlos's expression was grim. "His orbital is crushed… I don't think there's much hope for the eye… I got him as stable as I could, cleaned it, got some of the swelling down, bandaged it as best I could… but until he wakes up… we won't know if there's any damage to the brain."

"Fuck…" Mike muttered.

"Okay, look… maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but if… damn it, if y'all are serious about going tonight, then we're gonna have to start talking about maybe… leaving some people behind." Luke sighed.

WHAT?!

"NO!" Sarita exclaimed.

"There is no other way." Luke said.

"What the hell do you mean 'no other way'?" Emily snapped.

"This is bullshit." Bec said.

"Well, I don't like it either, but guess what? It's where we're at." Luke said.

"Kenny, Chase, Dylan, and I are only here because of you people… and now you plan to leave us behind." Sarita said.

"So, we should risk all our lives?" Carlos inquired.

"What're you saying?" Bec asked, frowning at him.

"Nothing. I-I'm just thinking out loud here."

"We are NOT leaving Anne again." Chase said.

I smiled. Anne told me she thought of these two as brothers to her. I looked at Anne to see a smile on her face.

"Thanks, guys." She said to the brothers.

"No problem, Anne." Dylan said.

"No! We're not leaving Kenny!" Clem said. "That's not fair! We stay together!"

"Life ain't fair, Clem…" Luke said.

"So what?! Okay, that man is as much one of us as Clem! We ain't leavin' Kenny behind!" I snapped.

"Good… 'cause you won't have to."

Is that…?

We all looked past Carlos.

Kenny's awake! The swelling's gone down, and his eye is covered by a bloody bandage.

Sarita hugged him.

"I'm alright, hon." He assured her, then looked at us when they pulled away. "We leave tonight… plan don't change."

Nick smirked. "Not bad, old man."

Kenny also smirked. "Thanks, asshole."

Tess lightly punched Nick's shoulder.

"You are one tough bastard." Mike said.

"Do tough bastards get their ass kicked in front of everybody?" Kenny asked.

I chuckled. Nothin' stops this guy…

"If they do, then I'm a tough bastard, too." I said.

Clementine walked over to Kenny. He looked down at her. "You all right? That wasn't your fault, okay? So don't go blamin' yourself."

"I'm glad you're okay…" Clem said.

Kenny chuckled. "Me too… if you can call this okay."

I stayed quiet, remembering... that night. Emily walked over to me and pulled me close to her. I smiled and hugged her.

"All right… Well then, what now?" Luke asked.

"We get the hell outta here." Kenny replied.

"Like now, now?"

"Yes!" Bec and Tess said at the same time.

"Where are we goin'? In case things get squirrelly and we need to make a break for it, we need a place to meet up." Kenny said.

"We could meet out at Parker's Run." Mike suggested.

I rose an eyebrow. I ain't heard of a place called Parker's Run.

"The hell is that?" Kenny asked.

"A Civil War site a few miles north. Tourist trap. Got signs all over. Just follow the road."

Weird… I don't remember passing that place.

"Emily and I stopped there to rest one night when we left to find Chris and Anne. It ain't far from here." Tess said.

"We stopped there when we escaped the first time. Luke and Carlos know where it is. It's not that far." Bec said.

"Chris and I must've gone a different way, because we didn't see a place like that when we escaped." Anne said.

"Don't worry. We'll show ya where it's at." Luke assured her.

"Well, at least if a few folks know where it's at, it'll be easier to find if we're split up. All right, that works." Kenny said.

"Would you object to us coming with you guys?" Kate asked as she and Ashley walked over to us.

I looked at them and smiled. "Of course you can come with us." I said before anyone else could.

Kate and Ashley smiled. "Thanks, Chris." Ashley said.

I nodded.

"Then we just need someone to go set off that PA, right? I mean, you never to explain who's supposed to do that." Luke said.

Everyone's gaze slowly turned to Clementine. Luke widened his eyes when he caught on. "Wait, hold on. SHE'S the plan?" He asked.

"Why is it always me?" Clem muttered.

Poor kid… I don't blame her for saying that.

Anne walked over to Clem. "Tell ya what, Clem. I'll come with ya."

Clem's face had a look of surprise while Tess and I widened our eyes and looked at each other.

"You heard me." Anne said.

"Baby, I can't let you do that." I objected.

"He's right, Anne. It's too dangerous." Tess agreed.

Anne looked at me. "Guys, relax. My boyfriend ain't the only one who knows how to be sneaky. I'll be fine." She assured us, then handed me her guitar. "Hold onto this for me?"

I nodded and slung the guitar over my shoulder, next to mine. "You got it, baby."

She nodded and walked to the winch with Mike and Clem. I walked over to her as Clem got onto Mike's shoulders and pulled the rope down. "Hey, Anne."

She looked at me. "Hm?"

I kissed her on the cheek. "Good luck." I said.

She blushed a little, but smiled. "Thanks."

She then placed her foot in the hook with Clem and Mike started pulling them up.

"Be sure to remember to flip the switch for the outdoor speakers. Just the indoor speakers might not draw the herd. It's right on the microphone box." Bec explained.

"Right." Anne said.

"By default it's set to play music, so you should just have to turn it on, right? Then climb back up and drop into the skylight above the stockroom. We'll meet you there."

"Yeah. I got it." Clem said.

I looked at Anne. "Be careful, both of you." I said.

"'kay." Anne said.

"Clem, Anne! Make sure you bring Alvin." Bec requested.

Speaking of Alvin, I hope he's all right.

* * *

**Anne's POV**

Clem climbed to the roof first with me right behind her. We wasted no time and ran to the skylight above Carver's office.

As soon as we reached it, I saw Carver wasn't there.

Perfect…

We then opened it up, and made our way to the floor.

I looked in a chair not far from Carver's desk and my visible eye widened.

"Alvin! Clem, what happened to him?!" I asked, looking at the girl.

"Carver told me he did that when he talked to me last night." She replied as we walked over to him.

This is why Carver wanted to see him. His glasses were missing, not to mention he was covered in his own blood. And on top of that, he was unconscious.

I gently shook him to try and wake him, but it did no good.

"Alvin? Are- are you okay?" Clem asked. Again, no response.

We then walked over to Carver's desk when I saw the mic box behind the desk.

Bingo!

Clem hit the button for the outdoor speakers.

"Okay, now the mic…" I muttered, then turned the knob, but nothing happened.

"Wh- what's wrong?!" Clem hissed.

I looked at the CD player and pressed 'Play', but still nothing happened. "No, no, no, no, no…" I said, then opened the receiver to find no CD in it.

"Where are they?" Clem muttered. A second later, she handed me a CD. I took it, and placed it in the receiver, then pressed 'Play'.

"Come on, come on…" Clem muttered.

"Please, work." I muttered, then turned the knob to maximum volume and a female voice began to speak.

YES! WE DID IT!

I looked and saw Bonnie and Shel looking at us. They then ran to the fence and got to work letting the others out.

I then heard a clattering and saw Alvin was rummaging through Carver's desk.

"What… what did they do to you, Alvin?" Clem asked.

Alvin ignored her and kept digging until he found a small gun. "Carver talks all that tough gut shit… then keeps the tiniest gun in the universe… somethin' funny about that." He weakly joked.

I looked and saw Caver and a few guards, then saw Hank head our way.

"Can I have the gun?" Clem asked.

Alvin weakly laughed while coughing. "Jesu- Jesus, d- don't make me laugh… hurts too much. I ain't gonna let my last act on this earth be handin' a firearm to a child."

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"I ain't fit to move, girls. I've… I've run outta road."

A tear welled up in my eye. No…

"Let's- No, I'll-I'll just go up there and shut that thing off!" Hank shouted.

"You two gotta go. They'll be here any second." Alvin told us.

"Thank you." Clem choked out while a tear ran down my face.

"Alvin…" I said with a sad tone.

"Anne, go on. Tell Bec I'm sorry." He said.

I nodded sadly and ran to Clem. "You take care of my girls..." He said, making us look at him. "I get the feelin' that it's- it's gonna be a girl. Just a hunch."

Clem and I nodded and smiled sadly. As we climbed the lockers, Hank entered the room and aimed his gun at Alvin and pulled the trigger. Alvin gathered enough strength to shoot Hank, then died in the seat.

Clem and I closed our eyes, mourning for our friend, then climbed back to the roof. As we made our way to the stockroom, I looked out and saw the herd. Tavia came running up to the roof, but Clem and I ran so she wouldn't see us.

We then opened the skylight, and climbed down.

We then heard Carver's voice and saw he had the others at gunpoint.

"You wanna disrespect me, fine. You wanna throw away the life… I'm tryin' to build us all… then fuckin' fine!" He said.

You ain't buildin' a life here. You're building Hell on Earth!

Chris and Luke looked up and saw us. I placed a finger on my lip, telling them to stay quiet.

"You wanna run off with this dogshit group of crippled fucks, then fine! Be my guest. But I will put a bullet in you and that baby before I let you leave again with my child."

"It's not yours!" Bec snapped.

"Well, even if that were true, it's mine now!" Carver said, frowning, then looked at Chris, Tess and Emily. "And you three… I'm very disappointed in you."

"There was a chance for Coleen, and you refused to give it to her!" Emily shouted.

"She was infected! She would've put all of us in danger! And now, you're all gonna end up like Coleen!" Caver said.

"FUCK YOU, DAD!" Tess screamed.

"You watch your tone, young lady! I will not hesitate to-"

NOW!

Clem and I jumped and kicked him in the back, making him grunt in surprise. Kenny punched him in the face. Luke then snatched his rifle from him.

"Get back!" Luke ordered. Carver held his hands up in surrender as the others grabbed their weapons.

"Come on, Luke. This ain't none of your business." Carver said.

"Clem, Anne, where… Why isn't Alvin with you? Where is he?" Bec asked.

Clem looked away.

"I'm sorry, Bec." I said. Bec widened her eyes in horror before she shut them in sadness.

"Alvin…" She said.

"Bec, I am… oh god, I am so sorry." Luke said.

"Kill him." Bec ordered in hatred.

"Rebecca, Rebecca sweetie, my god. How did we get here, you and me? This is just a bit of a custody battle we got on our hands here." Carver said.

"Shoot him." Bec ordered.

"Just shoot him." Clem agreed, making Luke widen his eyes.

"What? No, I d…"

Luke got cut off by a gunshot to Carver's knee, resulting in the latter clutching his knee and groaning in pain. We all looked at Chris. He was the one who shot Carver. Glaring at his father, he then shot Carver in the other knee, crippling his father.

He then walked to a nearby crate and tightly gripped a crowbar. "Go on and wait outside." He said in a low voice.

Most of us reluctantly walked to the stockroom door.

"We have to go." Carlos said.

"Chris, please." Verity said.

"Come on, man." Patrick said as Mike opened the door.

"I only need a minute. Go on. You don't need to see this, Clem." Chris said.

"That girl's already seen more than you can imagine, boy…" Carver said.

"Shut your mouth, Bill." Luke said, then looked at all of us. "You're all just gonna let him do this?"

"Yes." Bec, Tess, and Emily said.

"There ain't one part of that son of a bitch I don't hate, but that does not make this right." Luke said.

"I'm not going anywhere." Clem said, making us look shocked.

"It's gonna get messy." Chris told her.

"I know." Clem said.

"Look at you… you fuckin' ingrates. You don't even know how good you got it. That's all right. You'll learn." Carver said.

I walked away with Sarah.

"Lambs to the slaughter. No shepherd to guide you. Clementine knows exactly what I'm talkin' about." Carver continued.

"How dare you compare yourself to her?!" Ashley screamed.

"Come on." Sarita said to Clementine.

"No." Clem defied.

"I'm not letting you see this." Sarita said, trying to pull Clem, but the girl pulled away.

"It's not your decision."

"Atta girl… she ain't afraid to look it in the eye. You go with that feelin' you got right now, Clementine. It's what makes you stronger than the rest of them." Carver said.

"Come on. Let's go." Carlos said to Sarita.

"Yeah, go on. Let the sheep out of the pen. We'll see how long that lasts." Carver said as Carlos looked at Bec.

"I'll be right there." She told him. Carlos then looked at Tess, Emily, and Kenny. "We're stayin' here." Tess said.

"You won't see anything." Chris said coldly.

"You really wanna do this to your own father? What would Vanessa think?" Carver asked with his stupid little smirk on his face.

He has the nerve to mention my boyfriend's mother like that?!

"She'll understand." Chris said.

Carver scoffed. "Should've put you out of your misery when you were born."

"Yeah, but you didn't. Now look at where we are, Bill." Chris said.

Carver turned to Bec. "The fuck are you looking at, bitch? Don't act like you didn't enjoy every second…" He started, before I heard the sound of metal hitting flesh. I then heard the same sound again and again.

* * *

**Chris's POV**

After I finished getting my revenge, I handed the crowbar to Kenny. "Let's go." I ordered.

We then walked out of the stockroom when I looked back and saw Tess hugging Carver's body. She looked like she was crying. I walked over to her.

"Tess, we gotta go." I said.

She nodded and I helped her to her feet. I noticed Anne's hunting knife and snatched it. Bec took out his revolver, then the three of us walked out of the community. Anne walked over to me.

"Baby?" She asked.

"I'm okay, Annie." I said, then handed her the knife. "Here." I said, then saw her eye had widened. She smiled and took the knife. I saw an axe on the ground and picked it up. "Nice." I thought aloud.

"Come on. We got enough to worry about." Kenny said.

"Man, we're never gonna make it through this." Nick said. Clearly, he's nervous.

"You kidding me? If Clem can handle it, you can." Luke said.

"Shit. I thought they were coming from the south." Kenny said.

"They did… looks like we're in the eye of it, now." Bec said.

"No shit." Jennifer said.

"Fuck… this is fucked." Mike hissed.

Luke handed Clem a hatchet. "Here. You're gonna need somethin'." He told her, then drew his machete.

"Thanks." Clem said.

A couple of walkers approached us. I swung my axe at one, killing it. Jane then cut one of them open.

"You guys better hurry up and get to smearing if you wanna live. Or you can die here… doesn't matter to me." She said.

Clem then sliced open the walker she killed.

"That's bloody disgusting." Rebecca said.

"We ain't got a choice, though." I pointed out.

"Good point." She said.

"I'll go first." I heard Clem say.

"You're gonna put that on yourself?" Sarah asked.

"Like my boyfriend said, we ain't got a choice." Anne told her. I smeared the guts on me.

God, this is so fucking nasty…

Once I covered myself, I looked at Anne. "Turn around, babe. I'll get your back." I said.

"Smells gross." Sarah said.

"No shit." Mike said.

"Everyone shut the fuck up and get covered." Jane said.

"It'll be okay, honey. Just stay still." Carlos whispered to Sarah.

"Are… are you sure?" Sarah asked.

"I'm sure. There's nothing to fear if you remain calm. I'll keep you safe."

I finished covering my girlfriend's back, then she turned to look at me. "Okay. Your turn." She said.

I nodded and turned around. I felt her hand rubbing my back with the guts and I held back a shudder of disgust.

"Hurry the fuck up." Jane said.

Well, someone's being impatient…

"Calm down, Jane." Evonne said.

"Turn around, I'll get your back." Carlos told Clem. The girl turned around and Carlos covered her back.

"We ain't got all day here, everybody ready? They're almost on us." Kenny said.

"What in the actual fuck is going on here?!"

Oh, come on…

Troy walked up to us. "What is this sick shit? Someone say something before I start-" He continued as Luke reached for the rifle. "HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY! Don't you even fucking think about it motherfucker. I will end you! You hear me?!"

"Troy." Jane said calmly. "Troy, we talked about this."

"What? The fuck you talkin' about?"

"I told you I wanted to get out. You said you'd help, then I'd help."

Walkers came up to us, and I held my breath, expecting to get eaten.

"I thought you meant get out of the pen! Not whatever the fuck this shit is!"

"I did, but now we can leave. Troy… you can come with us."

Walkers kept coming at us… and walked right past us! Holy shit, it's working! I released my breath quietly.

"What? Well… where would we go?"

"Away from here… together…" She said sweetly.

"Man, you smell really bad. You gotta get a bath before we-" Troy said, before Jane took his rifle and shot him right in his groin, resulting in him screaming.

"YOU SHOT MY DICK OFF!" He shouted.

Heh… serves ya right, douche bag…

"Nice one, Jane." I said, smirking.

"Thanks." She said then handed Bonnie the rifle. "Come on. Don't make any noise, got it? They might hear something they don't like. And for fuck's sake, WALK. Act like you belong and you will belong."

Easy for you to say…

We all then started walking slowly.

"We got this y'all…" Luke whispered as the gunfire continued. "Is that Tavia?"

I looked back and saw all the guards on the roof.

"Where's Bill? We need him up here." I heard one of them say.

Bill ain't comin' to y'all's rescue…

"Stay calm…" Jane whispered.

Sarah started whimpering.

"Shhh… we're gonna be okay." Carlos tried to soothe her.

"Don't run." Jane said.

"Watch Sarah." Nick whispered.

"Stay close, Becca." Shel whispered.

"We're gonna be fine, Ver." Patrick soothed.

"Not too loud, guys." Chase said.

"We'll make it." Jennifer said.

"Shhhh. Quiet, honey. Clementine, Anne, Chris, come help me! Calm her down. Please. Just say something. You're her friends." Carlos said before a bullet went flying into his neck.

NO!

"DAD!" Sarah shouted as Carlos got bitten in the neck.

CARLOS, NO!

"DAD! DADDDD!" Sarah screamed.

Walkers were making their way to us. Sarita stabbed one, Anne and I double-teamed one as Bonnie shot another.

"Sarah, get a hold of yourself!" Clem said. Sarah didn't answer. "Sarah did you-?" Before Clem could finish, Sarah took off.

"Clem, behind you!" I said as a walker approached her. She killed it, then dodged another, but it kept coming toward her. She killed it when we heard a scream.

SARITA!

Clem, Anne, and I made our way to Sarita to see a walker biting her.

Fuck! SHE'S BEEN BITTEN!

Clem raised her hatchet and started hacking into Sarita's arms.

"Oh my God!" Sarita cried.

Jesus Christ!

Another swing and Clem took off the arm. Sarita held her stump as blood gushed out of it.

She then let out a blood curdling scream.

**That's chapter eighteen. I'm sorry it took so long to work on. Anyway, y'all know the procedure.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Old Adversaries**

**Chris's POV**

Shocked by what happened, Sarita stumbled backwards when a walker bit her in the neck, resulting in her screaming. Kenny and Mike took off to her.

"How fuckin' dare you, Clementine?!" I heard Kenny shout. I kept moving, trying to stay calm.

"I'm goin' after Sarah!" Luke said as Tess and Nick followed behind him. Nick took a bullet to the shoulder, but kept running.

I looked around and saw Anne had disappeared. "Emily?!" I whispered when I felt someone grab me. I tried fighting back until…

"Stop!"

Bec!

She let me go and I turned to face her. "Thank god." She said as Anne and Clementine came with her.

"Where's Sarita, Clem?" I asked. I caught on when I saw a saddened look on her face. "I can't find anybody."

"I know. What do we do?" Bec asked. "Luke was with me, but… I- I can't do this alone…"

"You won't have to." Anne told her.

"We can't stay here, guys. We need to keep moving." Clem said.

"She's right." I said as Bec looked back at Howe's. "Look. The walkers are still moving toward the hardware store. We can make it out if we stick togeth-" She said, then cringed.

The baby must be kicking again…

"I'm glad you guys are here. We can watch each other's backs." Bec suddenly said.

"We'll stick with you." Clem assured her.

"Damn right." I said.

"Thank you, guys…" Bec said.

"We need a clear path to the trees…" Anne said.

"Maybe they're thinning out somewhere." I said.

"See any openings?" Bec asked Clem.

"There." The girl said as she crept straight ahead, but the walkers stopped us from advancing.

"Dammit! Go back, go back." Bec ordered as Clem then bumped into Jane.

"Jane!" Clem said.

"Jane! Thank god-" Bec started, but was cut off by Jane.

"Stop. Relax." Jane hissed. "You need to walk… SLOWLY. You'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say." I said.

"I can't do this. You have to help us… please." Bec pleaded to Jane.

"We can't clump together like this… it's better if we spread out. You guys will be fine." Jane said.

"No. You don't understand. Just help us." Bec pleaded.

"We need your help, Jane." Anne agreed.

"We won't make it through this without your help." I added.

"You guys are fine. Just go." Jane said.

"We should all stay together. Isn't that safer?" Clementine asked.

"Exactly the opposite." Jane replied.

Bec started whimpering, causing Jane to look back at us.

"Dammit." I heard Jane say. She then walked back to us. "We'll have to push through that cluster of walkers." She said, pointing at the herd.

"There's too many." Bec objected.

"We'll make a cow-catcher." Jane decided. "Just… we need…"

I rose an eyebrow. The hell is a cow-catcher?

"A what?" Clementine asked, voicing my thoughts.

"You'll see." Jane said as she looked at the walkers, until she pointed at one. "There. That one looks light enough to carry. I'm gonna get on the far side of her. I need you to get her attention." She told Clem.

Clementine walked toward the walker and hit it with her hatchet. The walker turned to her and then Jane grabbed it and cut its jaw clean off. "Not gonna bite anybody now, are ya?"

"Jesus Christ." I whispered.

"That was awesome." Anne whispered.

"Thanks." She said to Anne. "Follow me. Stay close. If you fall behind, I can't come back for you." Jane said.

Can't or won't?

We stayed right behind Jane until we made it to the tree line. Once we made it past the herd, Jane shoved the walker to the ground and killed it. "Let's go." She ordered. We followed her and made our way through the woods.

We kept walking through the woods. The sun had risen some, making it brighter to see where we were headed.

I looked at my girlfriend. "That was close." I said.

"No shit." She said.

"You think the others made it out?"

"I hope so."

"Me too."

Bec walked behind us, a hand on her stomach. Clem slowed her walking to talk to her.

"Is… everything all right?" She asked the woman.

"No. I'm not all right." Bec groaned. "But I'll be a lot better once we get with the others."

"I hear that." I said.

"I need to make sure everyone else made it out. Luke… Sarah… Tess… Ashley… Kenny… God damn it, what if they aren't there?" Bec asked.

"If they aren't… nothing we can do about it." Jane said.

I glared at her. "Don't you DARE say that." I snapped at her.

"Fine! Sorry."

"Jesus, I don't even know if we're safe. What if the herd is still following us?" Bec asked.

"We're fine." Jane said.

"It's been quiet, but who knows." Bec said.

"The gunfire should be keeping the walkers occupied." I pointed out.

"My boyfriend's got a point. Everyone knows noise attracts them." Anne said.

"It's been at least an hour since I saw any walkers." Clem stated.

"Like Chris said, Carver's people should be keeping them busy for a while." Jane said.

"That'd be lucky." Bec said, then placed her hands on her stomach. "I know I should feel glad we escaped, but I just can't stop thinking about the others."

"I know. I'm worried about Tess and Emily." I said.

"How could I leave Alvin behind…? It was stupid."

"What was? Escaping?" Jane questioned.

"Look, I know we all agreed to use the herd to get out, but… Maybe we should have been more patient. Come up with something better." Bec said.

"It worked!" Jane snapped.

"If you can call that working… We could've… I don't know…"

"Both of you knock it off. Ain't no sense in arguing." I said.

"The plan worked. We got out of there. Most of us." Clem stated.

She must be talking about Sarita…

"You did your best, Clem." Anne assured the girl.

"Look, I know that some of your people didn't make it, but Carver was crazy. Staying would've only prolonged the inevitable. I'm just saying that if people hadn't panicked, things might've turned out better." Jane said.

"Of course we fuckin' panicked! We were scared!" I snapped.

"The plan was good! The execution was the messy part." Jane objected.

"That sounds an awful lot like you're saying it was their fault." Bec inquired.

"What? No! No, that's not what I'm saying." Jane defended.

"What ARE you saying, then, Jane?" Anne asked.

"Just…" Jane started before Bec groaned and placed her hands on her stomach. Anne and I exchanged nervous looks, as did Clem and Jane. "I have to stop. I'm sorry. I don't want to slow us down. Can I just have a minute?" Bec asked.

Jane shrugged. "Yeah. Take a minute." She sighed.

"Thank you." Bec said, then whimpered. I knew it was about what happened to Alvin. "Alvin was supposed to be here for this."

I looked at Anne and saw a saddened look on her face. I looked down in sadness. Alvin was a good man.

"Is Alvin…?" Jane started.

"He's dead is what he is." Bec answered.

"Because of that madman I called a father." I growled.

"Jane, do you know anything about..." Clem asked.

"No. I don't." Jane replied.

Clem looked at me and Anne. The both of us shook our heads. "We don't either, Clem." I told her.

I noticed Jane looking at Bec's stomach.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Jane asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Bec asked.

Here we go…

"Uhh, sorry. Just making conversation. It was nothing." Jane quickly said.

"No. What do you mean by that? Do with what? My baby?!" Bec demanded.

"I'm just looking at the worst-case scenario. You, Anne, Chris, and Clem won't be able to raise a baby by yourselves. Not out here. I just mean it's gonna need food. And, y'know, other stuff."

"Yeah? And?"

"Guys. That baby is coming, like it or not…" Clem calmly intervened.

"Fine. And then what? It's going to be helpless, and you can't protect it!" Jane snapped.

"And you assume I won't be capable enough." Bec accused. "Just because you're some angry loner who doesn't care about anyone but herself doesn't mean you know better than me."

"Hey! I've seen it before. Back when it started… me and my sister, we were-" Jane started.

"What!? She died?!" Bec snapped.

Jane's shocked expression said it all.

"I don't need your pity!"

"That's enough! Both of you!" I shouted.

"Chris is right! Yelling at each other ain't gonna solve anything!" Anne said.

Jane's shocked look gave way to one of anger. "You don't… You don't have the right…"

"Jane!" Clem called.

"Shit, I didn't mean it…" Bec muttered.

"I'm sorry about your sister." Clem called.

"Jane, wait!" I called out, but my call fell on deaf ears as Jane kept walking.

As Jane trudged ahead of us, Anne froze. "Hold up… You hear that?" She asked us.

Jane, Bec, Clem and I paused walking. I listened closely and heard a twig snap. Anne reached for her hunting knife. I then heard the click of a gun. "Move and you're dead." I heard a female voice hiss. "Turn around. Slowly."

I stiffened and slowly turned around to find a teenage girl holding a gun at my face. She had straight brown hair, blue eyes, a white crop top, blue jeans, sneakers, and a necklace with a peace symbol on it.

I stiffened, recognizing the girl's face. Fuck… it's HER!

The girl rose an eyebrow as she looked at me, then smirked as she lowered her gun to my chest. "Long time, no see, FREAK."

I clenched my fists. "Amanda, get the fuck out of here. I'm not that scared little boy anymore." I seethed.

"Who the fuck is she?" Anne asked me. I didn't take my gaze off Amanda. "Remember that bitch I told you about who bullied me? She's the one I told you about. Only she's the worst of them all."

Bec pulled Clem close to her as Anne got her hunting knife ready, as did Jane. Amanda smirked that same smirk she always had when she cornered me. "Please, you're still just a scared little boy who always went crying to his momma and papa."

"Shut up."

"Where's your momma and papa? They dead?" Amanda taunted. "Cause if they are, then they won't have to see your ugly face anymore."

"Piss off." Anne snapped.

Amanda immediately aimed her gun at Anne, making my girlfriend freeze. "And what if I don't? Huh? Whatcha gonna do about it, bitch?" Amanda smirked.

Seeing this, I seethed with fury and grabbed Amanda's arm, struggling to get the gun out of her hand. "YOU BITCH!" I roared. Amanda hit me in the nose with her elbow before kicking me in my stomach, sending me to the ground. "You know, ever since this shit began, I realized something: I can finally do whatever I want, and what I want right now is to finish what I started." Amanda grinned as she aimed her gun at me. "Say goodnight forever, Red Eyes."

Before she could pull the trigger, Jane snuck up behind her and tackled her.

I hopped up to my feet and grabbed Amanda. "Listen here, you crazy bitch. You threaten my girlfriend or any of my friends again and I will make you pay!"

I then knocked Amanda out. Once I did, I stormed ahead of the others.

**That's chapter nineteen. I'd like to thank AquaDestinysEmbrace for helping me introduce Amanda. Anyway, y'all know what to do.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Anger Issues**

**Chris's POV**

I was so furious about Amanda finding me, I didn't hear Clem's voice. I calmed down and looked at her.

"Sorry, Clem. What were you saying?" I asked.

"I was talking about that woman Carver mentioned. I know someone with that name." She said.

"Wait. Did she have pitch black hair tied back in a ponytail and blood red eyes?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because she's my mother."

Clem's eyes widened. "She did mention you a couple of times. She looked ashamed when she did."

I nodded. "Yeah. She was considering an abortion when Tess's mom, Coleen, volunteered to be my mom." I explained. "Is…. Is she still alive, Clem?" I asked.

Clem sighed and shrugged. "I don't know, Chris…. I haven't seen her in a while…" She told me.

I looked down sadly. "Oh…" I said. "When did you last see her?"

"Before I got separated from her and my friend, Christa." She replied.

I nodded as Jane walked over to us. "So, Chris. What was the deal with you and that girl back there?" She asked, referring to Amanda. My anger resurfaced and I stormed ahead of the others again.

"You shouldn't have asked him that, Jane." I heard Anne say.

After a few more minutes of walking, I saw a statue of a man carrying another man.

So, this is Parker's Run…

I saw Mike, Emily, and Bonnie standing next to each other. Emily's back was facing me. Everyone else except Tess, Sarah, Luke, and Nick were here as well. Knowing Jane would bring up Amanda again, I simply kept walking.

"We can't just sit here doing nothing." I heard Mike say.

"I know. I know. They'll be here soon." Bonnie said.

"She's right." Emily agreed when Mike looked at us.

"Holy shit." He said. Emily turned around and spotted me, then smiled and hugged me when I got close enough to her.

"It'd been so long."

When I didn't hug Emily back, she pulled away with a raised eyebrow.

"What's wrong, little brother?" She asked me, but my anger wouldn't let me talk. Verity ran to me and hugged me tightly, and yet I still didn't hug back. She pulled away and looked at me worried.

"Miserable little brown-haired bitch." I growled, making Emily realize who I was talking about.

"Amanda?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." I replied.

"Who's Amanda?" Bonnie asked.

I calmly walked over to a picnic table not far from her with one of my Sais in my hand. "Someone I'd LOVE to do THIS TO!" I replied, then jammed my Sai into the table.

"Jesus. And here I assumed you were a nice guy who only killed walkers." Mike said.

I sighed and calmed down. "Sorry. Just another person I want revenge on." I said.

"It's okay, Chris. But we were starting to worry if no one else would make it." Bonnie said.

"Well, besides…" Mike said, looking back at Kenny.

"Now, hopefully we can figure out a plan." Emily said.

"Where's everyone else?" Clementine asked.

"We were hoping you would know." Bonnie muttered.

I widened my eyes and looked at Emily. "T- Tess never showed up?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"No, and I'm getting worried." She said.

"This memorial works fine as a meeting spot, but no way we can stay here long-term." Mike said.

"He's right. There's no way we can." Emily agreed.

"I told y'all, that's why we're waiting. And as soon as everyone else gets here, we'll figure something out." Bonnie said.

"You wanted to leave without us?" Bec asked Mike.

"What? No. I wanted to go out and try to find everyone." Mike said.

"What does Kenny wanna do?" Clementine asked.

I looked at Kenny to see him sitting on the fountain. He must be grieving about Sarita…

Mike and Bonnie looked at each other, and Mike nodded. They then looked back at us. "I tried to talk to Kenny and he flipped out on me. Started yelling. Scary shit." Mike explained.

Kinda sounds like when Dad and I would yell at each other because of the bullies.

"I know he probably didn't mean it. But it was scary." Bonnie said.

"Reminded me of when Dad was drunk enough to yell at Coleen." Emily said.

We all looked at Kenny. I looked at Clem to see she had a saddened look.

"I've been nervous to even go near him." Mike said, looking back at us.

"What, you think he's gonna shoot you?" Jane asked.

"The way he is right now? I dunno. Maybe. He's not thinking rationally…"

"He's just… he's just not thinking straight." Bonnie said.

"Somebody's gotta do something. We can't just keep sitting here forever." Mike said.

"Damn right. Tess is still out there." I agreed.

"I should go talk to him." Clem said. "This is my fault."

"Hey. You did what you thought was right." Jane assured her.

"She's right. That's all anyone can do in that situation." Anne agreed.

Clem then walked over to Kenny while the rest of us walked to the others in a corner.

"You think I don't what y'all are whispering about over there? 'What's wrong with Kenny? Why's Kenny acting that way? Do you think Kenny's okay?'" Kenny asked. "That's all I hear from anyone anymore."

Dammit... He heard everything we said.

I kept my eyes on Kenny and Clem when Chase sat down next to me. "Can you hear what they're saying?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "No, I can't."

"You think that just because you're a little girl you can just get people killed and no one will care?! That because you're 'sorry' it'll all magically go away?! That's not how it works!" We all heard Kenny shout.

I looked at Clementine. Poor girl looks like she's gonna cry…

I sighed with both sadness and anger. I felt sad because I knew what Clementine was going through, and I felt angry because Kenny just yelled at the closest thing he has left to family.

"I know what Clem's going through right now." I thought aloud, making everyone look at me.

"You do?" Jennifer asked me, and I nodded. "Yeah. My dad yelled at me all the time."

"Me and my girlfriend are two-thirds of the reason why he would yell at Chris." Ashley said as she and Kate walked over to us while holding hands.

"I'm going crazy just sitting here not doing anything." Mike said as Clem then walked over to us.

"Just give it time, Mike. It's still early." Bonnie said.

"I have to side with Mike on this one. Tess is out there." I said.

"Clem! How'd it go?" Bec asked. Clem looked at Kenny.

"Kenny's being a jerk." The girl muttered. She looked like she was gonna cry still.

"Clem, you can't just expect him to bounce back. What that man's going through…" Bec said.

"At least you tried…" Rebecca said to Clem.

"Still. Doesn't exactly help us figure out what we're gonna do now." Mike objected. "We've got no food, no water, it's getting damn cold, and we're losing daylight fast."

"When the others get back, they'll know what to do. Luke will have a plan." Bonnie said.

"We thought Kenny would have a plan." Mike said.

"Mike… Bonnie…" Bec calmly said.

Jane sighed. "Mike's got a point. You can't just keep sitting around waiting. Things are difficult enough right now and soon you'll have a baby on your hands, too." Jane said.

"What, suddenly you're pretending to be concerned?" Bec snapped.

"Seeing you people floundering the minute things don't go according to plan has just got me on edge, all right?" Jane snapped back.

"Well, I don't exactly see you stepping up to help right now, either." Mike said.

"Would you guys knock it off?" I groaned.

"This bickering is getting us no where." Kate said.

"We should go find Luke, Sarah, Tess, and Nick." Clem said. "If they're in trouble we might be able to help them."

"Clementine's right. After everything… after all this. If there's any chance they're still alive, we need to take it." Bec said.

"I'll go. Chris and Clem can come with me. Emily, if Amanda shows up, can you deal with her?" Jane asked, and Emily nodded. "Leave it to me." Emily said.

"I'll come with you guys." Anne said, and I nodded before Jane could object.

"Thank you, guys." Bec said.

"No problem." I said.

Jane and Clem looked at Kenny. "Listen. Bec. If anything goes wrong here…. You got something to protect yourself?" Jane asked.

Bec pulled out Carver's revolver. "I've got this. You don't think I'd need to…?"

"I don't know. But you better keep that close."

"I don't see why you guys are wasting your time going to find them." Becca said.

That does it!

"You shut up, Becca." I snapped making all but Becca look at me with surprise.

Becca just glared at me. "Your sister's dead, dude. And now you want to go find her?" She asked, and I growled and clenched my fists.

"Tess. Is. NOT. Dead." I snarled, tightly clenching my teeth.

"You have no proof that she is."

"Becca." Shel calmly said.

"You're REALLY starting to get on my nerves, Becca." I growled.

"I'm just speaking the truth here. There's no way the others are still alive."

"You don't fuckin' know that!"

"And you do?! All I'm saying is when you come back as a walker, I'm not gonna be the one who said I told you so."

I growled, picked her up by her shirt, only for her to push me off her.

Anne grabbed my arm. "Baby, don't. She's not worth it. Save your anger for Amanda. I have a feeling that she'll be coming back."

I sighed, and nodded, still glaring at Becca. "We'll finish this when I get back."

"Whatever..."

"Come on, guys." Jane said and the four of us walked away.

"Be careful, you guys." Evonne said.

**That's chapter twenty. The next update will immediately take place after Jane, Chris, Anne, and Clem leave. Y'all know what to do.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A special character character will join in this chapter. Thanks to Dinowriter23 for letting me use her.**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Rescue**

**Chris's POV**

Anne, Clementine, Jane, and I kept walking through the woods to try and find Tess, Nick, Sarah, and Luke.

"Look, I'm gonna level with you guys." Jane suddenly said.

"I hate it when people level with me." I said, but Jane ignored my comment.

"You should know that finding your friends… that's a shot in the dark." Jane continued.

"You heard what Bec said. If there's any chance they're alive, we have to try." Anne objected.

"And I know my sister. She's tough. She's out there." I added.

Clementine looked at Jane. "Yeah. I don't know about that, Jane. We shouldn't give up before we've even looked." The girl agreed.

"Okay, but… I wanted to talk to you guys, away from them." Jane said.

"About?" I asked.

"You guys wouldn't have made it this far if you weren't smart, but I still… I just gotta warn you guys."

"About what?" Anne asked.

Jane stopped, and so did we. "That group is cracking. I've seen it before. And well… a lotta times, it's better to be on your own."

I rose an eyebrow as the three of us walked to her. "I know you guys see what I'm talking about. You don't wanna be here when they start… Turning on each other. Turning on you."

"These are good people. We help each other. I can't leave that." Clementine said. "Neither can we." Anne and I added.

"You'd be surprised." Jane said cryptically. "How much help is Kenny gonna be? What he's going through… he's more of a liability than anything. And Bec's situation is not making things better back there. You get enough broken people together… And you get a lot of broken decisions."

"How can you get along without trusting anyone?" Clementine asked.

"That's exactly how I get along." Jane replied.

"That may work for you, Jane, but if you can't trust anyone, then no one can help you." I said as we approached a destroyed car.

"Well, for what it's worth, I like most of the people in your crew… but, groups fall apart. People get killed." Jane said as we saw the car and Jane took a look inside it.

"Then why did you bring us with you?" Clementine inquired.

"I'm just trying to give you the tools you need to make it." She said then looked at Clementine. "Like your jacket… it looks warm, but… a walker will bite right through that."

"True." I said.

"My sister Jaime had a good leather one... wish I still had it. You coulda..."

She trailed off and Clementine, Anne, and I looked confused. She then closed her eyes in sadness then resumed searching through the car.

"What... what happened to your sister?" Clementine suddenly asked.

Jane sighed, then chuckled. "Seems we always wanna talk about the end, don't we?" She asked cryptically.

I rose an eyebrow. What's that supposed to mean?

Jane closed her eyes again and shook her head some. "You know, being a big sister is... well, it's funny."

"How so?" Anne asked.

"It's really easy to be mean."

"Oh?" Clementine inquired.

"You know, hide her toys. Make fun of her bad haircut. Give her the bad haircut. On purpose. I mean I did put the gum there. I figured I should get it out."

"Is that really what it's like having a sister?" Clementine asked.

"No... no... it's not all bad. But... What could I do? She thought I was her best friend. That couldn't go... unpunished."

Clementine looked at me. "Is that what it's like for you with your sisters?"

I chuckled. "Sometimes. One time, Tess and I actually got into a fight."

"What happened?"

"Tess and I were at a county fair when we were younger. I accidentally elbowed her in the face and then she and I fought. She won and broke my damn nose in the process."

Jane chuckled once.

"What?" Anne asked.

"Every summer, my sister and I would go to this amusement park in Virginia. But the best part wasn't the rides... It was that nobody knew us there and I'd... I'd pretend we weren't sisters. Just... friends." She then cleared her throat and saw we were near a trailer park. "All right! Jackpot!" She said, then took off running and we followed her. We saw two dead walkers. "Bet these walkers got some good stuff..."

Clementine rose an eyebrow, then we walked to her as she stabbed one of the walkers in the head. "That one's not coming back. See what else he's got."

"Are you sure?" Anne and I asked.

"Yeah, we should check them out." Clementine said.

"But you know why, right?" Jane asked the girl. "Only because they're fresh."

"What do you mean?" Anne asked.

"Take a look." Jane said as she walked to the other walker. "Old walkers are a waste of time. They're holding credit cards and busted old pagers. But these walkers weren't walkers all that long ago. They were survivors. They might have useful stuff. Chris and Anne, can you guys make sure none are following us?" She asked and my girlfriend and I nodded as Jane and Clementine started to search the walkers while we stood guard. I drew my Sais as Anne pulled out her knife.

After a few seconds, Jane spoke. "Smart haircut." She joked.

"Thanks." Clementine said.

"So... has your crew always been so dysfunctional?" Jane asked.

"I've actually only been with them a little while. I don't know what it was like before I got there. But Kenny was different. I know that." Clementine replied.

"It wasn't all that bad. Luke and my dad had different ideas about how the community should've been run. Sarah brought up the issue about my sunglasses, but I didn't say anything. After that, Ashley arrived. Then Kate showed up the next day. This girl, Clair Fay, showed up a few hours later." I replied.

"What happened to Clair?" Jane asked.

"She took off a few weeks before Luke and the others left." Anne replied.

"She's pretty tough, though. She can hold her own." I said.

"Glad to hear what you guys think of me." A girl's voice said. We then looked to see a girl who looked like she was a Cherokee descendant with brown hair with two braided strands on either side and the rest in a ponytail with a headband on her head, a red long-sleeved shirt and a matching vest, jeans, and knee high boots nearby. She had a bow and some arrows, as well as tomahawks and knives on her.

"Clair?!" Anne and I exclaimed.

"The one and only." Clair said. She then walked over to us as Clem a couple of driver's licenses.

"Find anything?" Jane asked.

"Drivers' licenses. Two of them."

"Well I guess some people just can't leave the past behind." Jane said.

"Guess not." Anne said.

"Clair, this is Clementine." I introduced, nodding at Clem, then I nodded at Jane. "And that's Jane. Guys, this is Clair."

"Nice to meet you, Clair." Clementine said.

"Likewise, Clem." Clair said. Jane just nodded at Clair.

Clementine then found some ammo.

"Hold on to them. Ammo's getting hard to come by, and things aren't going to get better." Jane said. Clem then put the rounds in her pocket.

"That's it." Clem said.

Jane found a type of sharp object. "A nail file. These things are great. Sharpen a blade, strike a flint..."

"Nice." I said, then looked at my Sais. "Personally, I'm a fan of my Sais."

"Jaime always had one in her purse. It'd jab my hand when I went reaching in..." Jane said. She then sighed and put the nail file in her pocket. We then walked to a third walker and Jane stabbed it in the head then looked back at us. "You can never be too sure with these things."

"True enough." Anne said.

"Come give me a hand, Clem." Jane requested. They then pushed the walker to its back and I widened my eyes when I saw a pair of red glasses. One of the lenses was cracked.

"Those are Sarah's glasses." I said as Clementine picked them up.

"Looks like your friend didn't make it." Jane said solemnly.

Anne frowned at her. "Don't you DARE say that."

"Anne's right. All we know is that she was here. It could be a good sign." Clementine said.

"We find her, we find Tess, Luke, and Nick." I said.

"Then we'd better hurry." Clair said.

"Don't go getting your hopes up, guys." Jane said.

"Stop talking like that." Anne, Clair, Clem, and I said at the same time.

"Look, guys. I know what you guys want me to say, but..."

We then heard someone shouting. Then someone said "Sarah... God dammit!"

"Shit!" Jane hissed.

"That sounded like Luke." I said.

"Okay, come on. We gotta find a way in." Jane said then looked through the fence to a hole. "Looks like there's an opening over there."

"Let's move." I said then we all headed to the hole in the fence.

Jane looked at Clem before they went through. "That hatchet of yours... it seems to get stuck pretty easily. It's gonna get you killed." Jane said to the girl then pulled out a screwdriver. "Here. Use this." Clem took the screwdriver. "Very effective." Jade said, then looked at us all. "We can do this."

"Let's make it quick." I said then we went through the hole in the fence one at a time.

We then heard crying and a guy saying 'Calm down'.

"Sarah, it's okay, hon." I heard Tess say.

"Shit!" I hissed.

"They don't sound too good." Jane said. "The clock is ticking."

"No kidding." Anne said.

"I'm ready." Clementine said.

"Same here." Clair said.

"I know you guys are." Jane said.

"We need to get a better look." I said.

Jane stood up slightly and saw two walkers, one on our side of the fence and one on the other, then looked at Clementine. "How about you get the close one, and I'll hop the fence to get the other." She suggested. "Go for it." She said with a smirk.

Clementine snuck up to the walker near us and killed it.

"Nice work." Jane praised as we made it to her. "You know what you're doing." She added. Clementine smiled. "Now, watch this..." She said then crept to the fence. "Got a nice little addition to your arsenal..." She said then hopped the fence, ran to the walker, kicked it in the knee, causing it to fall, then she killed it. Me, Clem, Anne, and Clair then hopped the fence. "Take out the knees first. Then... put a knife in its head when it's down." We nodded. "Alright. Let's take a look at what we've got on deck."

We saw a walker not far from us, so I crept up to it and killed it with one of my Sais. "Glad you're paying attention..." She said to me.

I smirked then made my way back to the others. Anne then went to search the walker. She then came back. "Anything, babe?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Yeah, most of there guys are gonna have nothing on em." Jane said. "But it's worth taking a look, when it's not too risky."

"We'll keep that in mind." Clair said.

"Anne and I can take out the other two." Clementine said.

"Okay. Go." Jane said.

Anne and Clem, then ran to the walkers, kicked them in the knees, then killed the walkers. "You two did the knee thing... Nice trick, huh?" Jane remarked, smirking.

We then crept to the barricade and saw a bunch of walkers at one mobile home. "That's a lot of walkers." Clementine said. "They look worked up about something."

"And what gets the interest of the dead?" Jane asked.

"People." Anne, Clair, and I said.

"How do we get in?" Clementine asked.

"If we can make enough noise on this side... we can lure those walkers over here." Jane said. "Then we might just be able to go through that other trailer, and get to your friends." She said, then looked at us. "What do you think, guys?"

"Sounds like a plan." Clementine said

"Good." Jane said. "What's gonna grab their attention?"

"Anne, Clem, and Clair, help me look around for something we can use." I said.

"I got you guys covered." Jane said.

Clementine opened the door to a truck, then sounded the horn. That seemed to do the trick. "That's good, but we've gotta find a way to keep it going." Jane said.

Clem looked at the walker Anne killed.

"What are ya thinking?" Jane asked the girl.

"If we lean him on the horn, it'll keep honking and draw the walkers..." Clementine said.

"Just like moths to a flame." Jane said as I sheathed my Sais.

"Clair, give me a hand here. Grab an arm." I said. Clair grabbed the left arm and she grabbed the right arm then I looked at Clair. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Clair replied.

"Okay. On three. One... two... three..." I said then we pulled the walker to the truck. After I sat him in the seat, I shoved his head onto the horn and the noise drew the attention of the walkers.

"It's working!" Clem exclaimed, then we then ran into the nearest trailer and killed a couple of walkers, but the horn stopped sounding.

"Shit! Move!" I ordered and we ran to the trailer our friends and my sister were in. Clem ran to the door while the rest of us had our weapons ready. Clem tried to open the door, but failed.

"It's locked!" Clem hissed.

"Fuck!" Anne hissed.

"Then try something else!" Jane said. Clem tried to kick in the door. "You're gonna need to use more force than that. Put some muscle into it!"

"We'll hold them off, just get us in there!" I ordered.

After two kicks, Clementine opened the door and we all ran inside.

* * *

"Chris, Clair, help me block the door!" Jane ordered. We pushed a desk down, making Sarah yelp.

"Sarah, please..." Luke said.

"Who's out there?!" Tess shouted.

"Tell us quickly!" Nick said.

"Tess!" I called, causing her to open the door.

"Chris?!" She called back then ran to me and hugged me. I hugged back. Luke and Nick widened their eyes seeing Clair.

"Clair?!" They both asked, causing Tess to look at Clair with wide eyes as well.

"Hey, guys." Clair greeted.

"Oh, thank God." Luke said.

"When we heard y'all banging through the door, I thought... I thought the walkers were gonna get through and take what was left of us." Nick said.

"Guys, where's Sarah?" Clementine asked.

Luke, Tess, and Nick, looked back at the room they just walked out of, then back at us. "We... We don't know what to do about her." Luke said.

"What's the matter?" Jane asked.

"You gotta help." Nick said as he, Tess, and Luke, led us back to the room they walked out of and we followed them.

"Sarah, honey, look. Look, it's Chris, Anne, Clem, and Clair. See? It's just like we told you, they're okay." Tess said.

"What's she doing?" Anne asked as I looked at Sarah.

"Can you get up?" I asked her. Apparently, my question fell on deaf ears, because Sarah didn't answer me.

"We don't know what to do. We can't snap her out of it, okay? I tried to carry her, but I... I guess Carver messed me up pretty good back there." Luke said.

"We dunno, it's just, after Carlos, she just lost it. Started running through the woods like a maniac." Nick said.

"We chased her for God knows how long, and then- Well, she saw this mobile home and made a beeline right for it." Tess finished. "We're just glad y'all are here."

Walkers started banging on the front door. "We're not outta the woods yet." Jane said.

"What are we gonna do about her?" Luke asked, referring to Sarah.

"Maybe she'll listen to me?" Clem piped up.

"Maybe..." Nick said.

"Give it a shot, Clem." Anne said.

"Listen, I, uh... They're gonna tear this place open pretty soon. We can't stay." Jane said. "So we gotta get her up, or we gotta..."

"We're not gonna leave her." I cut her off.

"Well, we've been trying...We've been trying for hours. We can barely get her to look at us." Tess said.

"Clem?" Luke asked.

Clementine knelt down. "Sarah? It's me." She gently said.

Sarah glanced up then looked back down. "Hi."

"You helped me when we first met, now I want to help you."

Again, Sarah glanced up, then looked down again.

"Maybe it seems like you're all alone right now, but you're not."

Sarah looked down. "Yes, I am."

"What about Luke? And Jane, Tess, Nick, Anne, Clair, Chris, and me? We came here because of you. All of us in the group, we're your family now."

Sarah started quietly crying.

Suddenly, walkers were all over the mobile home. Jane ran to the window. "Crap, we're surrounded." Then turned around and looked up. "What- what about the Skylight?"

Luke looked up. "All we got."

"Clem." Jane said. "There's no time!"

"Give her a minute, damn it!" I snapped.

"When everything started, I met my friend Lee. He tried to help me find my parents. He protected me more than anyone else in my whole life." Clementine said to Sarah, then looked away. "He died to keep me safe. I was so scared."

"But you're still here." Sarah said.

"Because he taught me to be strong. Even when I'm scared. Because he wanted me to live. And your dad protected you because he wanted you to live. He would still want that."

Sarah looked down, then lifted her head, which made me smile. Clearly, Clementine was getting through to her. Clementine handed Sarah her glasses and Sarah put them on.

The walkers started pushing through the door. Jane ran to keep the door closed. "Get to the skylight! Now!" She shouted.

"C'mon, I'll boost you!" Luke said to Clem. He interlaced his fingers, but as soon as Clem placed her foot in his hands, he groaned in pain. "Agh! Ugh, dammit!"

"What's going on back there?!" Jane asked.

"My ribs... We're gonna need somethin' to stand on!" Luke said.

"Go help Jane, Luke! Anne, Clair, Clem, Nick, and Tess, help me look around." I ordered.

Luke ran to help Jane as the rest of us, except Sarah, looked around.

Clementine pointed at the refrigerator, but Jane shook her head.

"Forget it! That thing ain't budging! Find something else!" Jane said as I looked at the desk.

"Can we use that?" I asked.

Jane looked at it. "Yeah, that would work..."

"What? Wha-?" Luke started then looked at the desk. "Aw, shit." He said then he and Jane got on opposite sides.

"Okay... Ready?" Clementine asked.

"On three." Jane said.

"One. Two. Three!" I counted then they moved the desk out of the way, but Jane held the door shut. Luke and Clementine then pushed the desk until the walkers got in. Jane, Anne, Clair, and I took down a few until...

"It's through!" Clementine said, then me, Anne, Jane, Nick, Clair, and Tess ran back into the room.

Jane shut the door then climbed onto the desk. "Luke, you first. We need you up top." She said then helped him up, then he held his hand out, helping Tess, Anne, Clair, then Nick up, but Clementine and I looked at Sarah.

"Sarah, we have to go. Are you listening?!" Clem asked Sarah.

"I can't do it." Sarah said.

"Yes, you can!" I told her.

"NOW, guys! If she doesn't want to go, you two can't make her! Don't let her take you guys down, too! Not again." Jane said.

"SHUT UP, JANE! Okay, this girl is like a sister to me, and I am NOT about to leave her behind!" I snapped.

Clem knelt in front of her, but Sarah started freaking out. "I can't, I can't, I can't. Daddy, I'm..."

"Snap out of it, Sarah!" Clementine said. "Please..."

"You can't save her, guys. We have to go." Jane insisted. "Believe me, I know about this."

"ARE YOU FUCKIN' DEAF, JANE?! I told you, I'm NOT going to leave Sarah!" I said.

"Hurry up!" Luke said.

Next thing I knew, Clementine, slapped Sarah. "MOVE!"

"Let's go!" I shouted as Jane helped Sarah up, then me, then Clem, then Luke helped Jane up.

"We gotta go." Jane said, then we all hopped off the roof and headed back to the meeting place.

**That's chapter twenty-one. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Trust Issues**

**Anne's POV**

We kept walking towards the meeting place. Jane, Luke, Nick, and Tess were in the front. Clair, my boyfriend, and I were in the middle, and Clementine and Sarah brought up the rear. Chris and I were holding hands as we walked.

I looked at Clair to see her smirking. "Wait a minute. When did this happen?"

I blushed. "Not that long ago." I replied.

She smirked still. "I'm happy for you guys."

I smiled. "Thanks, Clair."

"No problem." She said when I heard a horse's snort. We all looked and saw it was Windrun, Clair's horse. He clopped to Clair, who smiled and patted his neck.

"Who's this?" Jane asked.

"My horse, Windrun." Clair replied.

We kept moving after that.

Luke groaned a couple of times. "Okay… Look, I hate to ask this, but… are we there yet?" He asked.

Jane chuckled once. "We're not far."

"Better not be. I'm gettin' sick of all this fuckin' walking." Tess said.

"I'm with Tess on that." Nick said.

I looked at Clair to see how she'd react. Clair never was big on cussing. All Clair did, though was frown at Tess. I shrugged it off and looked at Clementine and Sarah.

"Look, Sarah. You can get through this. We both will. I promise." Clementine assured Sarah.

"But… I'm not okay…" Sarah said.

"Just try. Can you do that?"

"She just needs a little time, Clem. Leave her be for a bit." Jane said.

I saw a frown on my boyfriend's face. "This coming from the one who wanted to leave her behind?" Chris scoffed. Clementine walked to Luke and Jane as Tess and I tried to calm Chris down.

"I don't know about this." Jane said. "The way she is… She's gonna cause problems."

"The hell she is." Tess snapped at Jane.

Jane simply remained silent for a few seconds.

"What happened in there?" Clementine asked Jane, who looked at the girl. "When we went in there you were ready to help, but then… something changed."

"Look, I'd just… I'd seen that kind of thing before. I just didn't want to stick around to the bitter end." Jane replied.

"That still didn't give you the right to try and convince me and Clem to just up and abandon Sarah, Jane." Chris said.

"Sorry. I don't mean to sound harsh. It's just the way things are."

"Does that mean you'd turn on me? If I was hurt or something?" Clementine inquired.

"No… I mean… Clem… I wouldn't have to." Jane replied. "And just because you and Chris got her out of the today, doesn't mean you saved her. Trust me."

I frowned. Does she know something we don't…?

"I tried to save Jaime too. But she… gave up." Jane added.

Luke frowned and walked up to them.

"I just… I can't believe it…" He muttered.

"What's wrong, Luke?" Clair asked.

"Soon as you guys said 'go,' I was the first one up on the roof. Like I had already made up my mind." He replied.

"Luke, you can't let it eat away at you." Jane said.

Luke frowned and walked to Jane's side. "Well, I can't forget it." He told her.

"I dragged my sister across four states. And every morning, she'd say she wasn't getting up. So I'd convince her. Or push her. Or goddamn carry her, if I had to. Until this time… Walkers cornered us. Forced us up to the roof. And when they kept coming… I… I couldn't make her jump. Couldn't throw her. So I tried something else. I told her she could have what she wanted. And I left her there. Jumped to the next building over by myself." Jane said.

"Jesus." Nick said.

"You left your sister?" Luke asked.

"How could you leave your sister?" Clementine demanded.

"Yeah, I'm with Clem on this one, Jane. If me and Tess were in the same position as you and your sister were, neither one of us would leave each other." Chris said.

"Damn right. I would never leave him or Emily." Tess agreed.

"I don't… I don't know…" Jane said. "It killed me for a long time. But I finally realized that I'd put her on a forced march through hell, when all she really wanted was for me to let her go. Sarah was that way too…"

"Jane…" Luke said.

"Sarah and Jaime aren't the same person. We don't know she'll end up like that." Clementine said.

"People don't change." Jane said simply. "I mean, look at how Amanda was when she found us."

"Jane." Chris snarled. "You are treading on VERY thin ice right now."

Jane sighed. "Come on. Let's get back to your friends." She said.

I rubbed Chris's back to get him to calm down. He started taking in deep breaths and soon calmed down, making me smile.

We then made it back to the meeting place then Mike spotted us. "Son of a bitch. You found 'em!" He said.

"Yeah, I'm a little amazed myself, to tell you the truth." Luke said.

"AND we found an old friend." Chris said, nodding to Clair. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise when they saw Clair and Windrun walking up to us.

"Clair?!" Bec exclaimed.

"That's me." Clair said, smirking.

"If it weren't for Clem, Anne, Clair, Chris, and Jane, well… I don't know what would've happened." Luke said.

Emily smiled and ran to Tess and hugged her and Chris, who both hugged her back.

"I was so worried." Emily said to them.

I smiled as the three of them were brought back together again. My mom came up to me and hugged me, and I hugged her back.

"Thank God you're okay, Annie." She said.

"I'm more than okay, Mom." I assured her.

Bec looked at Sarah. "Sarah. How you doing, hon?" She asked as Sarah walked up to her. She tried to reach out to Sarah, but Sarah pulled away. Bec pulled her hand back. "That's okay, sweetie. Whenever you're ready. I'm just glad you're here."

Sarah then walked off as Becca walked up to us. "See, they weren't dead, Becca." I said.

Surprisingly, Becca smirked. "That's good."

Tess frowned at Becca. "You thought we were dead?"

"Yeah. She and I ended up shouting at each other." Chris said.

"Damn." Nick said.

Becca then looked at Clair. "When'd you guys meet up with Clair?" She asked.

"Just shortly before we found Luke, Sarah, Nick, and Tess." Clair replied.

I looked at Emily. "Amanda show up yet?"

She shook her head. "Not yet, no. I'm sure she will soon, though."

"If she does…" Chris started then drew his Sais. "I'll be ready to take my revenge."

"You ran into Amanda?" Tess asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Me, Chris, Jane, Clem, and Bec. She aimed her gun at me, but Chris grabbed her arm before she pulled the trigger. After she kicked him to the ground, Jane tackled her. Then he grabbed Amanda again and knocked her ass out." I explained.

"Damn." Tess said.

I nodded then saw Clementine walk into a tent nearby. I saw Kenny was in the tent as well. I sat in front of the statue and Chris sat next to me. Just then, I looked out to the tree line Chris, Clementine, Jane, Bec, and I first got here from and saw Amanda storming up to us.

Chris growled. "Time for round two." He said, standing up. Tess stood between them, but Chris kept walking. "Stay out of this, Tess. Like Dad said, I have to stand up for myself."

Tess sighed and sat next to me as everyone but Clementine and Kenny saw Amanda try to punch Chris, but he grabbed her fist with one hand then punched her in the stomach with his other hand, making her double over and fall to her hands and knees, but it only made Amanda even more furious, so she kicked his legs out from under him.

He fell to the ground on his back then Amanda got on top of him and punched him in the jaw. I wanted to help, but Chris said this was his fight, so I stayed where I was. Chris caught her next punch then punched her square in the mouth when I looked over at Sarah to see she had a scared look on her face so I walked over to her.

"It's gonna be okay, Sarah." I assured her, then saw Chris raise his knee to Amanda's stomach, causing her to gasp and roll off of him. He got to his feet then kicked her with his foot in the stomach then brought his knee to her face, sending her to her back. He then pressed his knee into her stomach to keep her down.

"Had enough?" He asked her.

"You kidding, Freak? I'm just getting started." Amanda said then smacked him across the mouth with the back of her hand, sending him off of her. When she got to her feet, Chris slammed her into the archway.

Just then, Bec groaned, causing us all to look at her, including Chris and Amanda.

"What happened?" I asked.

"My water broke." She replied, making us all look at her shocked. Even Chris and Amanda stopped fighting.

"Oh, shit! Does that mean what I think it does?" Luke asked.

I looked at Chris, who snarled at Amanda. "We'll finish this later." He said after letting her go.

"I'll be waiting." Amanda said, then walked to the other side, away from us.

Damn, that bitch has problems…

I looked to see Clementine and Kenny coming out of the tent.

Looks like Clem got through to him. At least I hope she did…

"Are you okay? How does it feel?" Mike asked.

"It feels wet, that's how it feels!" Bec snapped

"What's going on?" Clementine asked.

"Bec's water broke!" Bonnie replied then Bec doubled over, but Bonnie helped her.

"Oh, Christ." Jane said.

"We should… I don't know what we should do." Bonnie said.

"Aw, fuck!" Luke said.

"That means the baby's coming, right?" Clementine inquired.

"Kenny. Thank God. I think the baby's coming. What do we do?" Bonnie asked Kenny.

"All right. All right… Gimme a sec." Kenny said.

"Are you serious, man?" Chase asked.

"No way can Bec travel like this." Luke said.

"Damn right." Dylan said.

"He's right." Jane said. "She's gonna make a lotta noise. They'll be able to smell her, too."

"This place doesn't seem safe for a baby being born." Clementine observed.

"She's right." Rebecca T. said.

"That map shows a couple of buildings nearby. Maybe one of them could do the trick?" Mike said.

"Good thinking, Mike." Shel said.

Bonnie looked at the museum sign. "The museum seems like it could be a good start. I'll go."

"Good idea. Mike, think you can go with her?" Luke asked.

"Sure thing." Mike replied.

"I'll check the building by the river." Jane said.

"I'll go with you, Jane." Chris said. They then walked off.

"Okay, then. Kenny, you, uh, you and the others stick with Bec. And I will check the perimeter for walkers." Luke said. "Sarah? Sarah. You just stay here with the others, okay?"

"Clem and Anne…" Bonnie called and we walked to her.

"What's up?" I asked.

Bonnie looked at Clem first. "I know it must've been hard, but thank you for talking to Kenny. I'd love for y'all to give me and Mike a hand looking at the museum, but I was thinking… How do we know Jane ain't just gonna take take off? Maybe you two should go with her and Chris. Make sure she comes back." Bonnie said. "If she takes off, I doubt Chris can stop her all by himself."

"What do you mean by that?" Luke asked Bonnie.

"You know, she doesn't like being around people much. And she volunteered to head off awful fast. I guess it could be nothing. I get why Chris volunteered to go with her, though."

"I trust Jane." Clementine said.

"Yeah. I mean, I would've never made it back without her." Luke agreed.

"Just something to think about." Bonnie said.

"Okay. We're looking for warm blankets, clean water, and disinfectant…" Luke told the group.

"Maybe Anne and I should go with Chris and Jane." Clementine said.

"I'm good with that." I said.

"Better hurry and catch up then, you two." Luke told us. "All right everyone, you know what to do. Let's be fast, and let's be careful."

We all then split up. Clementine and I caught up with Jane, but my boyfriend was not in sight, which made me worried, so I ran to Jane.

"Jane, where's Chris?" I asked.

"Up here!" He called out from the deck. I sighed with relief then ran up to him while Clementine and Jane followed. I stayed by Chris's side, given that I don't like heights. He wrapped his arms around me. "We're okay, baby." He assured me.

"I know, but I hate heights." I reminded him.

"I hate tight spaces." He admitted.

"You're claustrophobic?" Jane asked him.

"Extremely. One time, when I was 12, I embarrassed Tess, which resulted in her putting me in a closet. It wasn't until an hour past that she, Carver, Coleen, and Emily found out I'm claustrophobic." He explained. "After that incident, I slept with my door cracked open a little bit."

I frowned. Note to self, kick Tess's ass later…

"Anyway, I hope this place is what we're looking for." Jane said.

"Me too." I said.

"God knows we could use a break." Chris said.

"Check this out." Jane said. Chris, Clementine and I walked over to her to see a lock on the gift shop door. "This gate's still locked, which means that hopefully no one's gotten to whatever was locked in there in the first place."

"That sounds logical." Chris said.

"Do you think you can pick the lock?" Clementine asked Jane.

"I should be able to figure something out…" Jane said.

"That nail file you found. Think that would work?" I asked.

"Maybe."

"The nail file…" Clementine started.

"Versatility is not overrated." Jane replied, smirking. She then started working on picking the lock. "You know, uh, it wouldn't hurt to try a heavier hand with this thing. See if you guys can find something bigger. We might need to bust the mechanism."

"We're on it." Chris said. Clementine walked over to a poster from the Civil War.

Chris chuckled while he looked at it.

"What, baby?" I asked.

"Always hated history, but when we learned about the Civil War, I paid VERY CLOSE attention." He replied.

Clementine looked in a trach can.

"Find anything?" Jane asked.

"No. Not even trash." Clementine replied.

"Shit…" I hissed.

Chris walked over to the cannon. "You think this old cannon still works?" He asked.

"Heh! Check the muzzle, Napoleon." Jane joked and Chris did. "Oh." He said.

"They fill 'em with cement so they're safe." Jane replied.

I took a look at the info graphic behind him. "Ow! Shit." Jane hissed, making us look at her.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah… I think I almost had it. Keep looking." She said.

Clementine walked over to a telescope, tried to look through it, then pulled back. "I guess it's broken." She muttered.

"Try the other one." I suggested. She did and didn't pull away, which meant this one worked just fine.

"There's some building across the river. I think I can see a church…" Clementine said.

"The nearest river crossing is miles up. Bec wouldn't make it in her condition." Jane said.

"Fuck!" Chris hissed.

"What?" I asked.

"We've got company." He replied.

"Shit shit shit. He's coming this way." Jane said. "And who knows if he has friends nearby?"

"Should we run for it?" Clementine asked.

"Normally I would. But it's too much of a risk. We can't lead him to the others…"

"What should we do, then?" I asked.

"We should scope him out and see what he's up to. I don't like having some stranger sneaking around so close to the others. We've got enough on our plates with the baby coming…"

"Maybe I can try talking to him?" Clementine suggested.

"Good call. Chris, you come with me. Hide. Now."

Chris and Jane hid on the steps while Clem and I hid behind the cannon. When we heard his footsteps, we moved to the opposite side of the cannon and saw the guy was trying to throw his bag in the trash can. We slowly came out from behind the cannon.

"Hey." Clementine said. The guy pulled a revolver on us.

I raised my hands a little. "Easy. We ain't gonna hurt ya. My name's Anne. This is Clementine."

"Who are you?" Clementine asked.

"I am Arvo." The guy, Arvo, replied. "I'm going to go. I don't want to shoot."

Jane and Chris snuck up behind him as Arvo said he didn't want to shoot me and Clem.

"You don't have to shoot anyone." Clementine said.

"She's right. Just put the gun down." I said.

Jane snatched his gun as Chris pulled out his own.

"Back up." Jane said.

"Nice and easy, Russkie." Chris said.

I looked at him. "What's makes you think he's Russian, babe?" I asked.

"His accent." Chris replied.

"Put the bag down." Jane ordered, and Arvo did so.

"Clem, make sure he doesn't have any other weapons in there." Jane said to Clem, who unzipped the bag, opened it and went wide eyed.

In the bag were no weapons, but meds.

HOLY SHIT!

"No, I have no more guns, I swear!" Arvo said.

"We just need to make sure that you're not a threat, man." Chris said.

Clementine picked up a bottle of the medicine.

"Anything?" Jane asked then she and Chris looked in the bag.

"Whoa!" Jane said.

"Holy shit!" Chris said. "That's a serious stash of meds."

"No no no no no. Take whatever you want but, don't take that medicine." Arvo pleaded.

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's for my sister. "My older sister. She is sick."

"If that medicine's for your sister, why are you hiding it in the garbage?" Clementine questioned.

"I need to keep it… I need to keep it safe."

"Sister or not, we could really use some of that stuff." Jane said.

"No! You are not nice people. You have already left me defenseless and now you take my sister's medicine?"

"Hey! We've got people who are suffering. Who need this medicine." Chris said.

"Luke's still a wreck after Carver's, Kenny's a mess, Bec's in pain…" I told Clementine.

"Look at all of it. Clementine, we need that stuff." Jane said.

"My people are suffering just as much as yours. You are not special!" Arvo said.

"Maybe not, but we still need this stuff, pal!" Chris said.

"'Clementine,' yes? You must believe me." Arvo said.

"I'm sorry, Arvo. We need these." Clementine said.

"You will wish you hadn't this." Arvo said, frowning.

Chris pushed Arvo into a corner of the deck, holding his gun to Arvo, growling.

"Babe, don't do it." I said to him.

Chris snarled at Arvo. "Don't you EVER come around here again. I don't give a shit if you do have some sick sister. The next time I see you…" Chris started then let Arvo go. "…You won't just be walking away. Go. NOW."

Arvo then left. Jane dropped Arvo's gun. "I can't believe I've gotten into this mess. Taking some stupid kid's stuff… Like a bandit."

"We should go get everyone else." Clementine calmly said.

"Yeah…" Jane said. "Go bring those meds to the others and bring everybody back here. I'm gonna get this place open then we need to move everyone here ASAP."

"Come on, girls." Chris said. I took his hand as we walked downstairs. Luke came by as we reached the bottom. Me, Chris, and Clem walked over to him.

"Clem, Chris, Anne! Guys, hey! Any luck with that observation deck?" He asked. "I was just checking on the others and they said they haven't heard from y'all in a while."

"The deck might be a safe place we can stay tonight, where Bec could have the baby. At least, if we can't find something better." Clementine said.

"I guess that's something. I should check it out. Is Jane still up there now?"

"Yeah. She's trying to get the gift shop opened." I replied.

"You know, I can't figure her out."

"What do you mean, Luke?" Chris asked.

"I mean, she really lays it on the line, but… at the same time, she doesn't show you anything that counts." Luke replied.

"I like her. She's honest and she knows what she's doing." Clementine said.

"Yup. That's more than I can say for some." Luke said.

"Jane seems like the kind of person who gets tempered by hardship. You know, guys?" Chris asked. "But, when I look at Kenny now, he just… he seems broken, and broken people get reckless."

"Yeah. He always tries to do the right thing. But… he's not the same anymore." Clementine agreed.

"Well, we're glad you see it too." Luke said.

"We need to tell the others about the deck." Clementine told Luke.

"Yeah. Good. I will, uh… I'll see y'all back there." Luke said, then headed for the deck, while me, Chris, and Clem headed back to the others.

**That's chapter twenty-two. Y'all know what to do.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Museum Trip**

**Anne's POV**

Clementine, Chris, and I made it back to the others, only to see Mike and Bonnie weren't back yet.

They must still be at the museum…

"I'm not supposed to be in labor yet, Kenny." Bec said as she had a hand on the archway to keep herself balanced. "What if something's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Babies know how to be born." Kenny said.

Bec looked at us. "Clementine! Anne! Chris!"

"Hey, y'all." Chris greeted.

Kenny looked at us. "What'd you find?"

"The building around back has an observation deck." Clementine replied.

"Somewhere where the baby will be safer?" Bec asked. "It's coming so much faster than I thought."

"It's high up, so it should be safe from walkers." I stated.

"Sounds good. As soon as Mike and Bonnie are back, we'll go." Kenny said.

Bec held her stomach. "Hey, Clem." She called and Clementine walked over to her. "Glad you made it back safe." She said as Kate and Ashley walked over to me and my boyfriend, still holding hands.

"Hey, guys." Ashley greeted.

"Hey, Kate. Hey, Ash." Chris greeted.

"Amanda's not happy the three of us are friends." Kate told him.

I looked at a table Amanda was sitting at and frowned at her. She looked at me and frowned back.

"Too bad. The three of us made peace with each other. If she doesn't like it, then she can kiss my ass!" He said.

"I heard that!" Amanda said.

"You were meant to!" Chris said.

Amanda stood up and stormed up to him again, only for Tess to get in the way.

"Get away from my brother." She ordered, then punched Amanda in the mouth.

Amanda fell to the ground then spit some of her blood on the ground.

Chris looked at Tess. "Don't, Tessie. Like I told you, this is my fight. It's time I fought it myself."

Tess sighed. "Sorry. Habit."

"It's cool, Tess." He said.

"We ain't seen Mike or Bonnie in a while." Kenny said as Amanda walked back to where she was sitting. "And I'm not saying I don't trust 'em. But I'd appreciate it if you went and checked up on them." Kenny told Clementine.

"Clair and I can go with her." I said as Clair walked up.

"Yeah, go on ahead. I'll be fine." Bec said.

Clementine, Clair and I, then started walking to the museum.

When we arrived at the museum, we saw a couple of dead walkers.

Mike musta hit 'em with that sledgehammer of his…

We walked inside the museum and Mike spotted us.

"Hey, girls." He said.

"Hey." Clair and I greeted.

"Clem, I thought you and Anne went with Jane and Chris?" Bonnie inquired. "She didn't take off did, she?"

"Yeah. She trying to get the place we found ready for Bec." Clementine replied.

"Well, that's good." Bonnie said.

"Just gimmie like ten more minutes to search around." Mike requested.

"He doesn't want to go back empty-handed."

Mike shrugged. "What? I just wanna help."

"Keep one eye on the woods while we're in here. I don't want nothin' sneakin' up on us." Bonnie said to Mike.

"I'll watch this side, you watch the other." Mike said.

"Deal."

Clementine looked at the cannon near us. "Jane said these don't work anymore."

"Nah. They're just for show. Be handy, though!" Mike said.

"Also really loud." Bonnie pointed out.

"Good point." Mike said then went back to looking through the box. "You think maybe they say that stuff about water and blankets just to get people out of the way?"

Good question…

"Oh, you don't know what the hell you're talkin' about. And you didn't have to come with me." Bonnie said.

"No, I wanted to… never mind."

"There have sure been some animals through here. Watch where you step." Bonnie said as Clem and I walked to a display table.

"Any luck?" Mike asked.

"No, not so much. Unless you want some broken glass." Bonnie replied.

"Lee would have loved this place." Clementine thought aloud.

"I bet he would've." I said.

"I tell you, I sure don't like being near a graveyard with the world the way it is now." Bonnie said.

"Way things are now, you're in a graveyard all the time." Mike said.

"Yeah… true enough." Bonnie said.

"Damn straight." I said.

"Language." Clair scolded.

"Sorry." I said.

Clair walked to a water cooler. "Empty." She muttered.

I walked over to where the souvenirs were.

"Souvenirs, huh. Lookin' for a keychain with your name on it?" Bonnie joked.

"No. Why would I want a keychain? I don't even have any keys." I retorted.

"Ah. Good point."

Clem walked over to Mike. "I sure hope we can find something to take back."

"Me too." Clementine said.

I walked over to Bonnie. "Do you see anything good?" I asked.

"Not so far. But let's give the place a good going over." She replied.

Clair found a Civil War coat and picked it up. "Hey, look at this, guys! An old coat!" She called out, bringing me, Clementine, Mike, and Bonnie to her.

"Nice! Good find, Clair." Bonnie said.

"You should hang onto that. It's gonna get a lot colder before it starts gettin' warmer." I said.

"Maybe we could give it to Bec." Clair said.

"That's a good idea… I'm sure she'll really appreciate it." Bonnie said, then looked at Clementine. "I guess you've already got that old coat I gave you." She said, then looked at me. "I feel so bad about everything that happened. Hopefully you won't always think of me like that."

"You're with us now, Bonnie. That's what matters most." I assured her, smiling.

Mike walked over to us. "Clair found a jacket." Bonnie told him.

"That's great, but, uh, isn't grey the, y'know, uh…?" Mike tried to ask.

"Spit it out, man." I said.

"We can't put Bec in a Confederate coat."

"Oh, I didn't even think about that." Bonnie said.

"Guess it's better than nothing, though."

I walked to the box Mike was looking through and took a look inside.

"Nothing but junk in there. Trust me." Mike told me.

"Shit…" I hissed.

Clair frowned at me. I tried opening the door next to the box, but it was locked. I then moved the box and opened the shutter then looked inside and my eye widened then I smiled and looked at the others.

"Over here!" I called and they walked over to me. Bonnie took a look inside.

"Water! Bottled and clean, that's just what we need!" She said as Clair smirked at me.

"Nice job, Anne!" She praised and I smiled as Bonnie tried opening the door.

"Wouldn't bother, Bonnie. I already tried. It's locked." I told her as she then looked at Mike.

"You wanna kick it down?" She asked.

"That's make an awful lot of noise." Mike pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe. You know if someone was small enough, they could… maybe squeeze through that gap there."

"All right, all right… I'll go." Clementine said.

"Thanks, Clem." Mike said.

"Just open the door from the other side. Mike'll carry those things out. Might be a bit… heavy for ya." Bonnie said.

Clementine walked to the gap and tried to squeeze through. "Agh… I'm stuck."

"Okay. Maybe I push from…" Bonnie started when a walker grabbed Clementine. Clair and Bonnie tried to pull Clementine free as Mike kicked the door in then shoved the walker into the corner, then I jammed my knife into the walker's head while Mike held it down.

"Well… that happened." Mike said.

"No kidding." Clair said.

"Guess I'm… not quite as small as I used to be." Clementine said.

"But you're tough for your size." Bonnie said.

"Hell, yeah." I agreed.

"Shit, you're tough for MY size." Mike said.

"I'm sorry I asked you. I won't do it again." Bonnie told Clem.

Mike looked at the two water bottles. "At least now we've got something to bring back."

"I'll keep checkin' the other room." Bonnie said.

"I'll go with you." Clair said.

The two then walked away.

"Let's get this water." Mike said then picked up one of the bottles with ease. Clementine struggled to pick up the other one. "Hey. I got this." Mike said then picked up the second bottle.

Damn, this guy is strong…

Clementine and I followed after him.

"That looks pretty heavy." Clementine pointed out.

"No shit." I agreed.

"Eh, it's all right." Mike assured us. "I know it looks like a lot, but we could all go through this pretty quick. Carver was crazy, but at least his shelves were always full…"

"You're right. I thought it looked like so much…" Clementine said.

"That baby's gonna be hard on everyone. Especially Bec. And between you and me, she's not looking too good…"

He ain't wrong… She did look exhausted already…

"Hey! Guys!" Bonnie called us over to her and Clair and we saw a raccoon. "It just walked on in like it owned the place. Figure it'd make a nice meal."

"We can eat raccoon?" Clementine asked.

"I'd eat the shit out of that raccoon." Mike said, making me, Clem, Bonnie and Clair look at him.

"Dude…" I said.

"Not like… I mean. Just that I'd be really happy to eat that raccoon. I am starving." Mike clarified.

"Fresh meat would go a long way with Bec." Bonnie said.

The raccoon spotted us then hid.

"Shoot! Don't let it get away!" Bonnie said.

"The one time I leave my bow and arrows with my horse." Clair said.

Clementine looked behind the post, then the display table.

"There he is!" Mike said, pointing at it.

"He's comin' your way, Anne!"

"I got him!" I said.

COME HERE, COON!

I lunged at him, but he moved out of the way. "Crap!" I said.

"Clem, block him!" Bonnie said.

The raccoon made it past us all then hid behind a tombstone. Mike pulled out his gun, but Bonnie lowered it. "Not with the walkers out there." She said when two baby raccoons showed up.

So this raccoon's a mother…

The babies and their mother then ran off.

"I'm even hungrier than I was before." Mike said.

"Well… at least it was kinda fun." Clementine said.

"Yeah… Huh. I guess it was." Bonnie said.

"Come on. Let's just get this back to Bec and the others." I said.

"Agreed. We don't have much time to waste." Clair said as Mike picked up the water and we then headed back to the others.

**That's chapter twenty-three. Hope you guys like it. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: The Attack**

**Chris's POV**

Tess, Emily and I sat at the statue when I chuckled.

"What?" Tess asked.

"I was just remembering that time I shoved ice cream in Em's face." I replied.

Tess chuckled as well. "Yeah. That was funny." She said.

Emily frowned. "Was not. And anyway, need I remind you two that you both got drunk that night?"

Tess and I both shuddered. "Please don't." I said.

I then saw my girlfriend, Clementine, Clair, Bonnie, and Mike come back. Mike was carrying two big bottles of water.

"You're tellin' me your arms ain't tired?" Bonnie asked him.

"Nope. I could do this all day." Mike replied as I walked to Anne, who smiled when she saw me.

She and I wrapped our arms around each other.

"Hey, baby." I greeted.

"Hey." She echoed then we shared a kiss.

Bec soon screamed, and we all ran to her.

She'd been like that for the past few minutes.

"Breathe like I told you." Kenny said.

Sarah looked to the treeline with wide eyes. Walkers were coming. "Oh, no… Clem… Clementine…" She said, making all of us look to see the walkers.

"Shit…" I muttered.

"That's all we need." Amanda said.

"How'd they get that close without anyone seeing 'em? Wh'the hell's Luke?" Mike asked.

"We ain't seen him. Ain't no tellin' where he is." Tess replied.

"Kenny! We've gotta do something!" Clementine said.

"You just keep that baby safe." Kenny said. "Chris, come with me."

I walked to Kenny's side, my Sais in hand.

"Guys?" Anne asked.

"We can't stay here!" Bonnie said.

"Clementine! Where's the place you, Anne, Chris and Jane found?" Bec asked.

"We'll show you!" Anne said.

"Good. Someone help me up."

Bonnie and Shel helped her up while I looked at Clair. "Get Windrun to the deck! Go!"

"Mike! The water!" Clementine said.

"On it!" He said then ran to get the water while Anne ran to Sarah.

"Come on, Sarah!" She said as Kenny and I took out a couple of walkers. Kenny started beating one in the head the way I bashed Carver's face in.

Now I know he ain't acting like himself…

I soon grabbed his arm. "It's fuckin dead! Move, man!" I ordered.

"Dammit." He said.

"Run!" I shouted and then he and I took off to the others. I caught up to my girlfriend at the steps of the deck. The two of us followed Clementine up the stairs. We found Luke and Jane laying down and I frowned.

"…that's about as human as I've felt in a long time. I almost forgot what-" Luke said to Jane when I cleared my throat, gaining their attention. "Guys?!"

"What's going on?" Clementine asked.

"Well, uh… I mean…" Luke stammered.

I growled. "Just get off your sorry asses, both of you!" I ordered.

"In here. Let's get you comfortable." Bonnie said to Bec when Kenny frowned at Jane and Luke.

"What the fuck are you two doing up here?" He demanded.

"Kenny! What's going on?" Luke asked as he and Jane stood up.

"We've got God-knows-how-many walkers out there which YOU were supposed to be keeping an eye out for." Tess replied.

"Hey, hold on a second…" Luke said.

"We ain't got a goddamn second, Luke!" Jennifer shouted.

"Just tell me what's going on!"

"Bec's having the baby!" Clementine said.

"Now?" Luke asked as Bec screamed. "Fuck, I'm sorry."

"You better be!" Emily snapped.

Bonnie and Shel helped Bec lay down. "There ya go. Just ride it out." Bonnie said.

"I have pills. I think they'll help with the pain." Clementine said as she handed Bec the pills we took from Arvo.

"What are they?" Kenny asked.

"Looks like oxy." Bonnie said.

"I want 'em." Bec said.

"Wait, wait. Is that okay for a pregnant lady?" Kenny asked, widening his good eye.

"Give me the fuckin' pills!" Bec snapped and Clementine obliged.

"They're comin' up the stairs!" Mike told us.

"Goddammit!" Kate growled.

"Language!" Clair scolded.

I looked at her. "Now ain't the time to worry about that, Clair!"

"Y'all go out there and keep the walkers off us!" Kenny told us.

"What about you?" Anne asked Kenny.

"I'll do this. I've been here before."

"Let's go!" I ordered.

All of us, except Kenny and Bec, ran outside and started shooting the walkers. Bec screamed and it sent chills down my spine.

Now I know how my mother felt when she gave birth to me…

"There's too many." Jane said.

"Shit!" Mike said.

"Keep shooting! They are NOT getting' up here!" Luke ordered.

"Damn right they ain't!" Nick said.

Luke and Mike moved to hold to door closed. Bonnie and Jane helped them. Clair continued to shoot off her arrows into walkers' heads.

"Find somethin' to block this gate!" Mike said.

The rest of us looked around and saw only one thing.

"We can block the gate with this!" Clementine said, referring to the cannon.

"Luke, help her out!" I ordered.

"I'm comin'!" He told Clementine. They then started to push the cannon until it fell into the deck, taking half the deck down with it.

I jumped back as part of the deck fell.

HOLY SHIT!

I saw Jane, Sarah, and Amanda hanging onto the deck.

Clementine and Luke ran to help Jane while Kate and Anne ran to help Sarah. I stood in front of Amanda, a fire burning behind my sunglasses. I knelt down in front of her.

"I should let you fall." I snarled coldly.

"PLEASE DON'T, CHRIS!" She pleaded.

"Then apologize, Harris!" I demanded.

"Apologize?! I don't think so!"

"Fine. Have fun being eaten alive." I said. She looked down in fear, then looked up at me.

"OKAY, OKAY! I'M FUCKIN' SORRY! I'M SORRY FOR THE PUNCHING, THE KICKING, AND PUTTING YOU IN THE HOSPITAL! I'M BEYOND SORRY, CHRIS!"

I nodded then looked at Ashley. "Help me pull her up!" I ordered. She nodded and ran to help me pull Amanda up.

Once we got her up, she threw her arms around me. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said.

I nodded. "You're welcome." I said, hugging her back.

Bec screamed again as Kenny told her to push.

Jane went wide eyed. "Oh, shit… They're climbing up."

"What?" I asked.

"They're gonna make it up here." Jane said.

"Fuck!" Mike shouted.

"Does this shit ever end?!" Luke growled.

"How about instead of askin' pointless bloody questions, we find a goddamn way to stop them?!" Rebecca T. shouted.

"We need to break the rest of the deck." Clementine said.

"She's right. She's right! Drop the whole deck!" Luke ordered.

"Drop the… are you fucking crazy?" Mike asked.

"Does anyone ever say yes to that question?" Chase asked.

"Look around!" Dylan ordered.

We each set about finding different ways to drop the rest of the deck. I spotted the other support. "Crap." I muttered. "Look!"

"That'll work! We bust that, the whole thing comes down." Luke said.

"Good eye, dude!" Becca said to me, and I nodded.

"Mike, boost me!" Clementine ordered. Mike put her on his shoulders and she started to hack at the support pins. After three hits, the whole deck fell, trapping the walkers on the ground.

The walkers stopped their attempt to get to us and we all panted.

"Oh… Oh no." Bonnie whispered and I saw a baby boy in Kenny's hands. It wasn't moving.

No…

"Is it…?" Clementine started to ask when the baby coughed. We all sighed with relief then gathered around.

**That's chapter twenty-four. The next update will pick up right after this and feature a song. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	25. Chapter 25

**I do not own Numb by Linkin Park**

**Chapter 25: Numb**

**Anne's POV**

Chris and I stood in the doorway of the gift shop, looking down at the walkers.

We heard the baby cooing inside. We walked inside to see Clementine waking up.

Bec looked from the baby to her. "Hey, Clementine."

"Hey. How's he doing?" Clementine asked.

"He's perfect." Bec said. "Who's a perfect little man?"

Chris smiled. "He looks like Alvin."

"You think so?" She asked him and he nodded.

"Definitely."

Bec smiled. "Thank you." She said then coughed twice.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" She replied. "I just wish I could get warm…"

Clair walked up to us and I looked at her. Mike sat up and looked at her. "Clair… why don't you give her that coat we found?" He requested.

Clair handed Bec the coat. "Sorry, y'know, about the color." Mike said, laying back down and going back to sleep.

"You really think I care about that?" Bec asked then looked at Clementine. "Do you… wanna hold him?"

Clementine's face brightened. "Could I?"

"Of course. You're family. Here." Bec said then gently handed Clementine the baby. He started fussing.

Uh-oh…

"Shhh, shhhh. There you go." She gently said. The baby calmed right down.

"You're a natural." Bec said to her.

"Look at you. Like a big sister." Kenny said as Bec coughed again.

I studied him for a sec. He seems calm for now…

I took a step towards the baby and Bec looked at me. "Would you like to hold him, Anne?"

I nodded, smiling. Clementine then gently handed me the baby. I smiled at him. "Hi there." I said to him gently.

Chris smiled at me. "You're a natural, babe."

I looked at him and smiled. "Thanks." I said, then held the baby a few more seconds then looked back at him. "You want a turn, sweetie?"

He smiled and nodded. I gently placed the baby in his arms. He smiled then gently rocked the baby.

I smirked. "You've got some experience, I see."

He smirked and nodded. "Yeah. When we were 12, Verity and I would often babysit." He explained.

"Nice." Clair said. Chris smirked still and nodded.

After a few seconds, Kenny looked at Chris. "Here, let me take him. You five should rest." Kenny said then looked at Bec. "Especially you."

"When's the last time you got any sleep, Kenny?" I asked.

"About two years ago. I'm fine." He replied, then looked at the baby. "Plus, somebody's gotta watch you while Mama gets her beauty sleep." He said then smelled the baby. "You never forget that smell."

I rose an eyebrow, but shrugged. Bec fell asleep, Clair laid down and also fell asleep. Chris and I, walked outside and sat down with our feet dangling off of what remained of the deck.

"Well, that was intense." He said, referring to the attack.

"No shit." I said. "You know, for a second, I thought you were gonna let Amanda fall."

He sighed. "I wanted, but at the same time, I didn't want to. I saw the fear in her eyes and knew she realized how I felt all my life from the hell she put me through." He said. "I looked into her eyes and I saw myself when I was younger. Now she and I are friends."

I nodded then looked away, my hand traveling to my arm.

"Baby? What is it?" He asked in a worried tone.

"I need to show you something…" I said to him.

"Okay." He said. I took off my jacket then took off my flannel shirt, rolled up the sleeve of my T-shirt and revealed I scar I'd hidden for two years. I could tell his eyes were wide with horror as his fingers gently tailed the scar.

"Who did this to you, Annie?" He asked.

"Josh Harrington. He and one of his friends dragged me down an alley, then Josh did what Amanda did to you…" I replied then started shaking. "W-With one addition… H-He tried to r…" I tried to say.

"He tried to rape you…?" Chris asked before covering his mouth.

I nodded. "Yeah…" I replied, then got my flannel shirt back on and then my jacket. He then pulled me into his arms and I cried softly.

"Shh… I'm here, Annie…" He soothed.

I sniffled then looked up at him. "Y-You won't do that to me, right…?"

"Never in a million years would I even think of doing that to you, Anne." He said.

I smiled. "Thank you."

He smiled back and nodded.

"Dammit!" We then heard. We walked over to see Luke and Clementine in the other room. Luke had banged his fist against a poster.

"Hey, keep it down." Kenny snapped.

"Sorry, I… sorry. Just… Jane's gone." Luke said.

I widened my eye. What?!

"Really?! Luke? Of all the childish bullshit." Kenny said.

"Childish? God dammit, Kenny, you know what? Just… lay off."

"No. You put our lives the BABY'S life at risk, so you two could roll around like fuckin' teenagers!"

Helloooo? Teenagers here!

"You guys are both acting like jerks." Clementine said.

"She's right. All you guys do is fight." Chris said.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I fucked up." Luke said. "…but y'know what? Jane, she made an offer and… Jesus Christ. I needed it, okay? I mean, look around you, okay? Everything is SHIT. So forgive me for wantin' to enjoy ONE MOMENT of somethin' else!" He shouted.

"Fine. But this baby… he's what matters now, got it? So get your shit together." Kenny said.

"Stop it, both of you!" I snapped.

"Kenny, where's my baby?" I heard Bec ask.

"Is everything all right?" Mike asked.

"Everything is fine." Luke said.

"We're gonna need a good place to raise him, which ain't here, we gotta push on." Kenny said. "We head north. Get to Wellington. That's our best shot."

"There's a town across the river, it might be safe there." Clementine said.

"Or at least, it might be a good stop on the way." Kenny said then handed the baby back to Bec.

"Clem's got a point. That could be a whole town full of supplies, and not that far from here." Bonnie said.

"Whole lot better than here, anyway. Looks like that's our best bet. We need to get on the road as soon as possible… we leave at first light." Kenny said.

"Are you mad?" Rebecca T. asked him.

"She's right. Bec's in no shape to travel." I said.

"She needs rest. A few days… at the least!" Luke said.

"We've got that baby formula." Bonnie said.

"Luke's right, she needs to rest. We should wait a few days." Clementine said.

"Maybe that's for the best. We don't wanna push Bec too hard." Tess said.

"Just give me a day or two, Kenny. I'll be fine." Bec said.

"This is a mistake." Kenny said.

"The hell it is." Emily said.

"Look, we should all just try and get some sleep. It's been a long day." Mike said.

Bec started coughing again. Luke knelt by her as Kenny walked off. "Sorry." She said.

"Okay, Becs, it's gonna be all right." He assured her.

I saw Chris pull out his guitar. "Before we all get some shut-eye, how about a song?"

Everyone woke up and we all looked at him.

"Let's hear your song, Chris." Clementine said.

Chris smiled then strummed his guitar. After a few seconds, he started singing.

_"I'm tired of being what you want me to me to be  
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface  
Don't know what you're expecting of me  
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes  
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)  
Every step that I take is another mistake to you  
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)_

_I've become so, I can't feel you there  
Become so tired, so much more aware  
I'm becoming this, all I want to do  
Is be more like me and be less like you_

_Can't you see that you're smothering me  
Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control?  
'Cause everything you thought I would be"  
Has fallen apart right in front of you  
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)  
Every step that I take is another mistake to you  
(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)  
And every second I waste is more than I can take_

_I've become so, I can't feel you there  
Become so tired, so much more aware  
I'm becoming this, all I want to do  
Is be more like me and be less like you_

_And I know  
I may end up failing to  
But I know  
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you_

_I've become so, I can't feel you there  
Become so tired, so much more aware  
I'm becoming this, all I want to do  
Is be more like me and be less like you_

_I've become so numb, I can't feel you there  
(I'm tired of being what you want me to be)  
I've become so numb, I can't feel you there  
(I'm tired of being what you want me to be)"_

We all applauded when he finished. After that, we all laid down and fell asleep.

**That's chapter twenty-five. Y'all know what to do.**


	26. Chapter 26

**I do not own Bring Me to Life by Evanescence**

**Chapter 26: Bring Me to Life**

**Chris's POV**

I woke up at dawn and sighed when I saw everyone else was asleep. I stood up, stretched, put my sunglasses on then walked over to what remained of the deck.

I sputtered my lips then drew my Sais.

Before long, I heard footsteps and saw Clair walking out to me. "Hey." I greeted.

"Hey. What are you doing up so early?" She asked.

I shrugged. "It's just something I've conditioned myself to do."

She nodded. "Any plans for the day?"

"Yeah. When Anne gets up, I'm gonna talk to her about teaching Sarah how to defend herself."

"I think that's a good idea. Last night had to have been traumatic for her."

I nodded. "No kidding. We ain't gonna head too far off."

"Cool. I gotta go check on Windrun." She said.

I nodded again. She nodded back then walked downstairs to check on her horse.

A few minutes later, Anne was up then walked to me.

"Hey, Annie." I greeted.

"Hey." She said then we kissed.

After a few seconds, we pulled away.

"I think we should teach Sarah how to defend herself." I said.

She nodded. "Agreed. Last night was too close."

I nodded back. "Then let's get her up."

She nodded then walked over to Sarah and gently nudged her. "Sarah, wake up…"

And slowly, Sarah woke up. "Hey, Anne… What is it…?"

"My boyfriend and I are gonna teach you how to defend yourself."

"Y-You are?" She asked and I nodded, walking to them.

"We are, Sarah. To avoid incidents like last night, you'll need to know how to defend yourself." I replied.

Sarah slowly nodded and then slowly got to her feet. We then headed out quietly.

Anne, Sarah, and I walked to a clearing.

I had my pistol, Anne had hers, and Sarah had a small revolver.

Sarah's revolver wasn't loaded yet as I looked at Sarah. "Now, the most important thing to remember when using a hand gun is never lock your elbows. Keep them angled a bit."

Sarah nodded. "O- Okay..."

I nodded then set a bottle on a tree stump nearby then held out my hand. "Let me see the gun."

Sarah shakily handed me the revolver, which I then loaded with six rounds into the revolver then looked at Sarah. "Now, watch me." I said then lined up his shot, took a deep breath, and then squeezed the trigger, making the bottle shatter.

Sarah had a surprised look when she saw that happen.

I walked back to the tree stump, placed another bottle on it, then walked back to Anne and Sarah and then handed Sarah the gun. "Your turn."

"I- I'll miss..." Sarah shakily replied.

"And that's okay. Just keep trying." Anne encouraged.

Sarah nodded and cautiously aimed the gun at the bottle. She then slowly took a deep breath and gently squeezed the trigger, missing the bottle a by few inches to the right.

"A little to your left, Sarah." Anne instructed.

Sarah gently aimed to the left. She then gently squeezed again and hit the bottle, making it shatter. She smiled a little. "I got it!"

Anne and I smiled at her. "Nice job, Sarah!" We praised.

"T- Thanks..." Sarah replied.

Anne and I nodded, smiling. Just then, we heard growling and saw three walkers headed our way. "Next lesson, Sarah. Aim for the heads when walkers are coming." Anne said.

"What?!" Sarah asked out of shock.

"Just stay calm." Anne said.

"You can do this, Sarah." I assured her.

Sarah slowly nodded, aimed at a walker's head then squeezed the trigger. She had a shocked look as the body fell to the ground. She then aimed at another and squeezed the trigger again, then she killed the other.

Anne and I smiled at Sarah when she'd killed all three walkers. "Good job, Sarah."

"I- I did it!" She exclaimed.

Anne and I smiled at her. "Yes, you did." We both said. She hugged us both.

Sarah smiled at us.

"Come on. We should head back. The others may be up by now and they're bound to be worried." Anne said.

Sarah nodded in agreement.

I did, too. We then headed back to the gift shop.

When we arrived, we saw Evonne looking out to the town with one leg against the wall but both arms crossed.

Anne cleared her throat. "Hi, Mom." She said, making Evonne look at her and frown.

"Where have you been, young lady?" Evonne asked.

"We were teaching Sarah how to shoot."

"Wait. So…" Evonne started.

"Those six gunshots were from this." I said, holding up the revolver in Sarah's hand.

"Holy hell. Sarah shot a gun?" I heard Emily ask.

I nodded. "She did."

Emily smirked at Sarah, who smiled back some.

After that, everyone was up.

"We should get going." Kenny said.

"Bec's still in no shape to travel." I said to him.

He frowned at me. "Dammit, boy! We gotta move!"

"Not until Bec feels like she's ready to." I calmly said.

Clementine walked up to us. "He's right. We go now, we'll push her too hard."

"Again, you're siding against me, Clem?!" Kenny snapped.

"Hey! It's her decision who she sides with." Anne said.

"Just give me until tomorrow, Kenny. I'll okay to move then." Bec said.

"Fine…" Kenny conceded then I walked downstairs and he followed. "And are you sure that was a good idea, teachin' that girl to shoot?"

"Kenny, she needed to learn at some point. Better for her to learn sooner than later." I said then walked back up to the gift shop.

I picked up my guitar and strummed the beginning of my favorite song, Bring Me To Life. Anne recognized the tune and began to sing.

_[Anne]_

_"How can you see into my eyes  
Like open doors  
Leading you down into my core  
Where I've become so numb_

_Without a soul  
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold  
Until you find it there and lead it back home"_

_[Chris]_

_"Wake me up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Wake me up inside"_

_[Chris]_

_"I can't wake up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Wake me up inside"_

_[Chris]_

_"Save me"_

_[Anne]_

_"Call my name and save me from the dark"_

_[Chris]_

_"Wake me up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Bid my blood to run"_

_[Chris]_

_"I can't wake up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Before I come undone"_

_[Chris]_

_"Save me"_

_[Anne]_

_"Save me from the nothing I've become_

_Now that I know what I'm without  
You can't just leave me  
Breathe into me and make me real  
Bring me to life"_

_[Chris]_

_"Wake me up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Wake me up inside"_

_[Chris]_

_"I can't wake up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Wake me up inside"_

_[Chris]_

_"Save me"_

_[Anne]_

_"Call my name and save me from the dark"_

_[Chris]_

_"Wake me up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Bid my blood to run"_

_[Chris]_

_"I can't wake up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Before I come undone"_

_[Chris]_

_"Save me"_

_[Anne]_

_"Save me from the nothing I've become"_

_[Anne (Chris)]_

_"Bring me to life  
(I've been living a lie, there's nothing inside)  
Bring me to life"_

_[Anne]_

_"Frozen in time with your touch  
Without your love, darling  
Only you are the life among the dead"_

_[Chris]_

_"All this time, I can't believe I couldn't see  
Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me"_

_[Anne]_

_"I've been sleeping a thousand years, it seems  
Got to open my eyes to everything"_

_[Chris (Anne)]_

_"Without thought, without voice, without a soul  
(Don't let me die here)  
There must be something more  
(Bring me to life)"_

_[Chris]_

_"Wake me up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Wake me up inside"_

_[Chris]_

_"I can't wake up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Wake me up inside"_

_[Chris]_

_"Save me"_

_[Anne]_

_"Call my name and save me from the dark"_

_[Chris]_

_"Wake me up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Bid my blood to run"_

_[Chris]_

_"I can't wake up"_

_[Anne]_

_"Before I come undone"_

_[Chris]_

_"Save me"_

_[Anne]_

_"Save me from the nothing I've become"_

_[Anne (Chris)]_

_"Bring me to life  
(I've been living a lie)  
Bring me to life  
(There's nothing inside)  
Bring me to life"_

After I finished strumming and Anne and I finished singing, the entire group applauded, making me and Anne smile.

"You guys sound amazing!" Sarah praised.

"No kidding." Becca said.

"Thanks." Anne and I said.

After that, everyone, except Bec, rotated taking watch every two hours.

When night fell, we all got some sleep.

**That's chapter twenty-six. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Revenge Robbing**

**Anne's POV**

I woke the next morning and saw Kenny standing over the edge of the deck. I stood up, stretched then walked over to him. "Helluva view, huh?" I asked.

"One of many for me." Kenny said.

I looked over at Bec, who was coughing. Kenny looked at her, as well. I walked to her. "If you want, we can wait a bit longer." I offered, but she shook her head.

"I'll be okay to travel." She said.

After a few minutes, the others started waking. Clair went downstairs to get Windrun. After we all got our things packed up, we headed out.

* * *

We'd been walking for a while now and it was getting cold. Ashley had her arms wrapped around Kate to keep her warm. Chase did the same for Jennifer, Dylan did the same for Rebecca T., Nick did the same thing for Tess, and Patrick did the same for Verity. The leather jackets my boyfriend and I had on kept us warm. Clair stayed with Windrun.

Bonnie helped Bec walked as Bec held her son. Chris had his arms wrapped around Sarah to keep her warm. My mother stayed by my side as Shel tried keeping her sister warm, despite Becca saying she was okay.

God, it's freezing…

Bec collapsed to one knee.

"You all right?" Bonnie asked her.

"She's exhausted. We all are." Luke said. He and Kenny then frowned at each other.

"Not to mention freezing." I added.

"I can keep going." Bec said weakly.

Honestly, I don't think she'll make it…

We kept walking then soon Kenny spoke up. "We shoulda left right away, instead of waitin' around. We coulda found more food and been someplace warm days ago."

"We did the right thing. She was in no condition to move." Chris said.

"She's worse now!" Kenny said.

"We can still turn back." Evonne said.

"That's not an option." Kenny said. "Everybody hang in there. We gotta keep movin' if we're gonna make it to that town before nightfall."

"You don't even listen to anyone else. You just go on barkin' orders." Tess snapped at Kenny. "Okay, you're pushing them too hard."

"I'm just doin' what has to be done as always." Kenny said.

"Luke's right. Everyone's tired." Clementine said.

"Why are you takin' his side again? We shouldn't even be out here, we coulda got to better shelter days ago." Kenny snapped.

"Stop snapping at her, goddamnit!" Amanda said. "Like Anne said yesterday, it's her choice whose side to take."

"Thanks, Amanda." I said.

"Only my parents called me that. Everyone else just called me Mandy." She said.

I smirked. "I'll keep that in mind." I told her.

You know, when she's not a psycho, Amanda's pretty cool. Now I see how her, Kate, and Ash were able to get along.

Bec suddenly groaned and fell to her side, which made the baby start crying.

"Over here, there's a place to sit." Mike said, referring to the kind of tire you'd find on a big truck. Bonnie helped Bec over to it.

"Bec. Let me take the baby." Kenny requested.

"He's okay. I've got him." Bec insisted.

"No, you rest for a minute. I'll watch him." Kenny said.

"Back off, Kenny. She said she doesn't want you to take the baby. Don't be all weird about it, okay?" Nick said.

"I ain't bein' weird about it." Kenny snapped.

"Yeah, you kinda have been." Emily snapped back.

"You should listen to Luke." Clementine said to Kenny. "It's Bec's decision."

"I was just tryin' to help." Kenny said.

"We get that, Kenny. But you don't have to be all weird about it." Shel said.

I looked at Chris and saw he was looking around. "Babe?" I said, getting everyone to look at him.

"What's wrong, baby brother?" Tess said.

"Listen." He said.

Over the sound of the wind, I heard squeaking of some kind.

"Hello!?" I heard a familiar voice shout.

Shit… Please don't let that be who I think it is…

We all looked ahead. "What is this?" Mike asked. I turned my eye to Chris, who's hand rested on the grip of his pistol.

I looked back at the stranger. I noticed he was limping.

I then heard him say something in Russian and gulped.

"Arvo?" Clementine asked.

"Arvo?" Bonnie repeated.

"Anne , Clem, Jane, and I met him on the observation deck before the attack." Chris explained.

Kenny looked at me, my boyfriend, and Clementine. "Y'all know this sonuvabitch? What's he want?" He asked.

"He don't look like much." Bonnie said.

"That ain't the point." Kenny said.

"Hello! Please?" Arvo said, still heading our way.

"I don't trust him." Chris said.

"Also, he might be mad at us." Clementine added.

"Everybody, keep your eyes open!" Luke ordered as everyone but Bec walked to him.

Chris and Kenny pulled out their guns. "Hello. You are Clementine, Chris, and Anne."

"What's goin' on here, friend? You got people with you? Where are they?" Kenny asked.

"You're not out here on your own, are you?" Luke asked.

Three others came out of the woods, aiming guns at us. "These are my friends. We stay hidden for safety, but you three we know. You're Clementine, Chris, and Anne." Arvo said.

The girl next to Arvo asked him something in Russian, and he replied in Russian. One of Arvo's friends laughed and spoke Russian as well.

"We don't want any trouble, man." Chase said.

Arvo looked at me, Chris, and Clementine. "I told them you three are the ones who robbed me. They think it's funny that you three are so young..." He said.

I growled. That little bastard ratted us out!

"'Robbed'?" Kenny asked.

"…and they want you and your friends to put down the guns so we can take your things." Arvo finished.

"All we took were the pills, Arvo." I said.

"Jane took your other stuff, not us! You don't have to get even with us." Clementine added.

"'Jane…' Where is the fourth?" Arvo asked, looking around.

The bald headed dude started speaking Russian again and Arvo responded.

"She's gone! She left the group." Chris told Arvo.

"It's a trap. I know it." Arvo assumed, then spoke in Russian again.

"Hey, hey, HEY!" Kenny said then we all aimed our guns at the Russians.

"This can be easy for you." Arvo said.

"It can be easy for us all." Kate reasoned, but Tattoo Dude spoke Russian again.

"All of you just put your guns down. This will be fine." Arvo said.

"We have a baby!" Clementine said as the baby started fussing.

I looked at Bec and saw she hadn't moved since these Russkies got here.

Oh God… Please don't let her be dead…

"You have a baby with you?" Arvo asked and Tattoo Dude looked at Bec.

The Russian survivors all started talking Russian, which in turn, got us all worked up.

I saw Clementine looked over to Bec and I saw Bec's eyes turned milk white.

Shit! SHE'S TURNING!

"HELP! BEC, NO!" Clementine shouted then Kenny aimed at Bec and let out a gunshot, killing her.

"No!" Luke shouted.

I saw Chris push Sarah Down. "STAY DOWN, SARAH!"

By that point, we all started shooting each other.

**That's chapter twenty-seven. I know it's a cliffy, but that's what happened at the end of Episode 4. Anyway, review and more chapters will head your way.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Standoff**

**Chris's POV**

As the gunshots rang out, most of us took cover. I led Sarah to safety. Anne, Ashely, Kate, Amanda, Patrick, and Verity followed me to where Luke took cover. Kenny, Chase, Tess, Nick, Emily, Jennifer, Dylan, and Rebecca took cover in the trees and started firing back. Clair led Windrun out of harm's way then started shooting off her arrows.

Evonne, Shel, and Becca joined me, Anne, Sarah, Kate, Ashely, Amanda, Patrick, and Verity in cover. I looked at saw Clementine ducked down. She lifted her head and looked around. I saw Arvo trying to help his sister as Mike stumbled back a bit.

"Shit. I'm hit. I'm hit!" He shouted.

"Mike, get over here!" Bonnie ordered.

Clementine looked at me and Luke. "Clem!" I shouted.

She then looked at Tattoo Dude, who was shooting off his shotgun, then to Kenny, and those with him.

"Fuck you! You started this shit!" Kenny said.

The guy they were shooting at said something in Russian.

I then saw Clementine crawling forward. She ducked down to avoid getting shot.

"Hey! What're you doing?" Luke said to her.

"Clem! Get behind cover!" I ordered.

"You're out in the open!" Anne added.

Clementine then took off forward and came back… with the baby!

"Holy shit." I said.

"I didn't even see him out there!" Kate said.

"Good work, Clem." Luke said then he and I lifted up a bit, only to duck down again to dodge getting shot. "Shit. Okay… okay, we gotta do somethin' y'all. We're pinned down here."

"No shit, Luke!" Amanda said.

"We can't just… sit here and let this guy take potshots at us till he runs out of ammo." Luke said.

"So quit talking about it and do it!" Clementine said.

"Yeah… yeah, all right." Luke said.

Kenny shot twice then took cover. "This don't have to get any worse than it already is!" He said.

"You can just go!" Nick added.

The guy spoke Russian again.

"English, motherfucker!" Tess shouted.

"I kill every one of you!" The guy said.

"Good fuckin' luck with that!" Emily snapped.

"We need a plan here!" Ashley said.

"If I can just get over to that side of the wall, I could maybe get an angle on this guy." Luke said.

"Good thinking!" Evonne said.

"Cover me, all right?" Luke said to Clementine. "Just shoot over towards the woods."

"I'll… I'll try." Clementine said.

"Yeah? Well, okay. Good… good. I just need the distraction. Okay? All right, on my go."

She waited then…

"Go!"

Clementine shot towards the woods, and Luke began to make his way to us.

"Hey! What're you…?" Kenny started until Luke got shot in the leg.

"Luke, No!" Bonnie shouted.

Tattoo Dude aimed at Luke, but Kenny shot Tattoo Dude in the head, killing him. I helped Luke over to us.

"Luke! Are you okay?" Clementine asked.

"Well, he got me in the leg, but… I think… I think it went straight through… shit, I don't know." He replied then groaned in pain. "I'm gonna be fine… I think I'm gonna be fine."

Next thing I heard was Kenny saying "You get out here, or I put a bullet in this kid's head!"

I looked up and saw he was holding Arvo at gunpoint.

"Let him go, Kenny!" Clementine ordered.

"No!" The old man said.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!" Rebecca T. asked.

"I'm ending this." He replied, then turned his attention to the last shooting Russkie. "Get out here! Right fuckin' now!"

The Russian spoke in his native language as Arvo still struggled to get out of Kenny's grip. "Quit fightin' me, boy! You think I'm bluffing? Get out here!" Kenny shouted.

I looked at Arvo's sister to see her eyes were milky white.

Shit, she turned!

Arvo struggled still to get free, but Kenny didn't let go. "Stop squirmin', damn it." Kenny snapped at Arvo.

She started crawling to us, but Clementine shot the woman in the head, killing her.

"Noooooo!" Arvo shouted, then finally got free from Kenny's grasp and crawled to his sister. The other Russian fired at Kenny, who ducked down. "Natasha! Natasha! Noooo! Please!" Arvo said then turned a hateful look to Clementine.

The other guy stepped out from where he was hiding, planning to shoot Kenny until He was stabbed in the back of the neck. I looked and saw it was…

"Jane!" I called out. Kenny walked to the Russian and shot him.

"It's safe to come out." Kenny said.

"Here… I got him." Bonnie said. Clementine handed the baby to Bonnie then we all came out of hiding.

"Jesus Christ… that was, uh… that was intense." Dylan said.

"No kidding." Clair said.

"I thought… man, I thought that was it." Mike said.

"It was for these assholes." Kenny said.

Tess and Emily immediately ran to me. "Are you okay? Did they get you?" Tess asked.

"I'm fine, sis." I assured her.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"Positive." I said, then they both hugged me tightly, and I hugged back. The three of us were all the family we had left, so I don't blame them for being worried about me. Because, in all honesty, I was worried about them.

We all then walked to Bec's corpse. Luke cast a look at Jane, who soon looked away from him.

"How did this happen?" Mike asked.

"She… turned. Just like that." Shel replied.

I looked at Kenny to see a look of guilt on his face.

"Don't go blamin' yourself, Kenny." Bonnie said.

"She's right. You did what you had to… to protect the boy." Jennifer said.

"She just lost too much blood. It ain't nobody's fault." I said.

"She would've been a good mom…" Anne said.

"Yeah… yeah, she would have." Sarah agreed.

"Don't worry, Bec… we'll take care of your boy… you rest easy." Bonnie said.

I saw Kenny growl, clench a fist and storm to Arvo. "You piece of shit!" He shouted then hit Arvo.

"Hey, hey!" Evonne said as Bonnie handed Clementine the baby.

Mike, Lue, and I ran to help Arvo. "Stop!" Mike said.

"Get off me!" Kenny snapped.

"Guys, guys! Come on!" Luke said.

"It's over, man. He ain't a threat to us." I said.

"How can you say that? Of course he is!" Kenny said then pulled out his gun. "Get out of the way."

On instinct alone, I aimed my gun at Kenny. "Whoa! What the fuck are you doing?!" I asked.

"I'm doin' the same thing this asshole tried to do to us!" Kenny replied.

"He wasn't the one shooting at us! That guy's dead." Clementine intervened.

"Just cause he don't have a gun doesn't mean he wouldn't have." Kenny said.

"Well, he didn't. So leave him alone." Anne snapped.

Silence followed until Arvo spoke. "There is house, food… please. Please, I can take you." He said.

"Bullshit." Kenny barked.

"No, no! Is true. We have place. Not far. Food." Arvo insisted.

"See? He wants to help." Luke said.

"Oh, don't be stupid. He's just trying to save his skin." Kenny argued then turned his attention to Arvo. "Why the hell would you help us? Huh?"

"I… I not want see more people dead." Arvo replied.

"Then close your eyes and I'll make it quick." Kenny snarled.

"Kenny, back off!" Mike said.

"If he's telling the truth, it could save all of us." Bonnie said.

"We need the food. None of this will matter if we all starve to death." Clementine said.

"She's right, Kenny. We're running low on supplies as it is." Becca said.

"It's worth the risk to check this place out." Jane added. "Trust him, don't trust him, it doesn't matter. We should go anyway. We just need to be careful. It can't be far from here."

"You stay outta this! You're the reason these fuckers came after us in the first place." Kenny snapped at Jane.

"Don't try and pin this on me." Jane said.

"Chris, Anne, and I were there with her. It's our fault too."

"Clementine's right, Kenny." Anne and I said in unison.

"Think about the baby, Kenny." Emily said.

"If there are supplies, we need 'em. We ain't gonna last much longer without more food." Tess said.

"We gotta take a chance." Bonnie stacked on.

"Unless someone's got a better plan…" Jane offered up.

Kenny finally put his gun down, and I lowered mine.

Kenny sighed. "We got somethin' to tie this shitbird up?" He asked.

"Yeah, I got somethin'." Bonnie said then tied up Arvo's wrists.

"Follow me, I take you." Arvo said as she tied his hands up.

"Just gimme a reason." Kenny snarled.

"Yeah, man. He gets it." Luke said.

Anne and I walked with Jane and Clementine. Mike was helping Luke walk while Sarah walked with Kate and Ashley.

"Look… I know you're probably pissed about me leaving… when I heard the gunshots I… I knew it was mistake. If it helps, the thing I'd normally do is walk away for good… but I didn't." Jane said to Clementine. "Despite what my instincts were telling me."

"I'm not pissed… I'm glad you're back. I didn't want you to go in the first place." Clementine said.

Anne and I looked at Jane. "Neither did we. We trust you, Jane." I said, earning a nod from Anne.

"Thanks. That's… that's good, because you three are probably 90 percent of the reason I came back." Jane said. "And it'd probably get pretty annoying if you guys hated me all the time."

Anne smirked. "Wouldn't want it to be annoying." She said.

"No. That would suck." Jane said. "I'm gonna try to make this work. All I can do is… promise you I won't abandon you again. Which, to be fair, I've never done before… even though I probably should have… a few times now."

"You don't gotta point the gun at him the whole time." Mike said to Kenny.

"You forget what we just went through?" Kenny asked.

"He ain't goin' anywhere, Kenny." Bonnie said.

"No need to get your arm all sore." Tess said.

"I'm worried about Kenny." Jane said. "He's… he's in a dark place. We gotta keep an eye on him."

She ain't wrong. Kenny's not acting like himself.

"Everything he's been through… That he's lost… It's changing him." Anne said.

"Yeah… I've noticed that, too." Clementine said.

"Same here." I added.

Jane looked at Clementine. "You're the only one that he trusts. That he really trusts. That means you're the one that's gonna have to pull him back." She said. "He's counting on you. If we're really going to make this work…"

"I'll do my best." Clementine said.

Jane, Anne, and I smiled. "We know." I said.

Bonnie looked back at us. "Come on slowpokes!" She said.

The four of us walked back to the group and we all kept walking for some time.

**That's chapter twenty-eight. Review and I'll post more chapters.**


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